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Rook .C n VV3 


Copyright _ g. & [o v| iL 


COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 















THE BOY WHO LOVED 

THE SEA 





Cook and his company were treated to a 

glorious sight . 


[page 144 ] 


» 

w" 







































THE BOY WHO 
LOVED THE SEA 

The Story of Captain James Cook 



. 


BY 


l 


MARY HAZELTON WADE 

A 

U 



Illustrated by 
Alex A. Blum 


D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
New York :: 1931 :: London 




c & py 










COPYRIGHT, 1931 , BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 


All rights reserved. This book, or parts 
thereof, must not be reproduced in any 
form without permission of the publishers. 




PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


AUG 17 1831 

©CIA 41055 

% 


CONTENTS' 


CHAPTER PAGE 


I. 

On the Farm . 






i 

II. 

The Wonderful Sea . 






7 

III. 

The Runaway . 






i 5 

IV. 

Off to Sea .... 






20 

V. 

In the King’s Service . 






31 

VI. 

Wedding Bells 






45 

VII. 

The Great Unknown 






56 

VIII. 

Off to the South Seas 






61 

IX. 

Exciting Adventures . 






73 

X. 

Fresh Discoveries . 






97 

XI. 

Cannibals .... 






107 

XII. 

On to Australia . 






114 

XIII. 

Danger Ahead 






122 

XIV. 

The Glorious Welcome 






129 

XV. 

Close unto Death 






136 

XVI. 

Days of Gladness . 






145 

XVII. 

Beautiful Tahiti Once More 




152 

XVIII. 

Queer Fashions 






159 

XIX. 

Stewed Dog .... 






169 


V 










Contents 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XX. Bad News. 180 

XXI. The Homecoming. 190 

XXII. Queer People. 203 

XXIII. Farewell to Omai. 213 

XXIV. A New People. 226 

XXV. The Bitter End.235 

XXVI. Afterwards. 245 











ILLUSTRATIONS 


Cook and his company were treated to 

a glorious sight. frontispiece 

PAGE 

The chase was an exciting one .... 35 

A native seized a musket and fled ... 88 

The chief put on the uniform and walked forth 

with great pride , . . . f t 183 




CHAPTER I 
On the Farm 


T IS time to water the horses, laddie.” 

At his father’s words, the scarcely eight- 
year-old lad would hurry to the barn to give the 
animals the drink they needed. 

No sooner was this task done than he might hear: 
“Come, come, be on your way to the pasture with 
the cows.” 

Or it might be: “Scamper to the house as fast as 
your legs can carry you. Mistress Walker has just 
called, saying she wants you to do an errand for 
her.” 

So the day would pass, with little James ever on 
the go, doing this one’s or that one’s bidding, with¬ 
out complaining. 

Then, when night set in, he would leave the farm 
with his father, to get a sound night’s sleep in the 
humble home where his mother was already watch¬ 
ing for him. 

This home was somewhat better than the mud 
hut of two rooms in which James had first opened 
his eyes, far up there in northern England. A “clay 
biggin”—that was what the Yorkshire people around 
him called the hut. Little of comfort it held in the 


z 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


way of furniture. But the all important thing in life 
was there: it was the love that overflowed from the 
hearts of the poor but ignorant couple who dwelt 
in that humble home with their two children— 
James, who was born on the twenty-seventh day of 
October in that long-ago year of 1728, and his older 
brother John. 

Even when the family moved to a larger house, 
it was poor enough beside the farm where James’s 
father worked daily for the wealthy yoeman, Wil¬ 
liam Walker. 

“A grand place!” So little James must have 
thought of the Walker home. Why, there were many 
rooms in the house! And outside in the barns, sleek 
horses and cattle were sheltered. And there were 
pigs, no doubt, on the farm, and sheep and fowls in 
great number. 

James, who was always a fearless little fellow, 
could have all sorts of adventures there, because one 
never knew what horses, and cows, and even 
chickens, might take it into their heads to do. 

Far away, as it seemed to the lad, but really not 
very many miles distant, was a vast ocean on which 
rode immense ships. Sailors spent their lives on 
those ships and stories of the wonderful sights they 
beheld drifted from time to time to the farm. 
James, busy and happy as he was, had chance mo¬ 
ments in which he could listen to these tales with 
amazement. 

Mistress Walker liked the lad. “He is always 

2 




On the Farm 


willing to do what I ask,” she thought. “He never 
sulks about his tasks, and is faithful. And he is so 
bright, he deserves to get some of the learning books 
can give.” 

So it was that, busy as she was with her many 
cares, she found time to teach James his letters and 
give him some lessons in reading, thus starting him 
on the road to knowledge. 

He had grown fast out of babyhood. With coarse 
but nourishing food to eat, and with his days spent in 
the great outdoors, he became tall for his age and 
strong of body, while his bright, dark, deep-set eyes 
showed that his mind was wide awake. 

So the weeks and the months flew by till James 
was eight years old. Then, one day, he was told ex¬ 
citing news: there was to be a change in the family 
fortunes. The father had obtained a job in the vil¬ 
lage of Great Ayton about five miles away, and a 
much larger place than Marton which was the only 
home James had known up to that time. 

“How good it will be to live in Great Ayton!” 
thought the lad as he dreamed of new sights to look 
upon, new playmates to join in his sports, and new 
adventures. 

“Only to think!” he considered. “My father is 
actually to have charge of a farm owned by the rich 
lord of a manor. No longer must he go out to work 
by the day, and we will live right there on the farm 
in a comfortable home. It will be glorious!” 

It was, without question, a rise in the fortunes of 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


the honest laborer. When quite a young man, he 
had left his native Scotland where wages were very 
poor, and had crossed over the border into England 
in search of better pay than he could obtain in his 
native land. 

His mother’s blessing had gone with him. “God 
send you grace,” she had said in parting with her 
dear son. Her words were impressed upon his 
mind, and when, not long afterwards, he fell in love 
with a Yorkshire lassie named Grace, he felt it 
might well be in accord with his mother’s wish that 
the young girl should become his wife. 

You can readily guess what followed. The church 
bells soon rang out merrily for the wedding of 
James Cook, the poor and honest Scotchman, and 
the equally poor English maiden who was indus¬ 
trious and self-reliant like himself. 

The young couple began their simple housekeep¬ 
ing at once, and when their second child James came 
to them, they were managing only by hard work to 
keep the grim wolf, hunger, from the door of their 
mud cabin. 

It was a wretched home according to our way of 
thinking to-day. 

Times were different in that long ago when 
George II was King of England. While some peo¬ 
ple were very wealthy, lived in castles, and wore 
rich garments, there was great poverty in the land, 
and many were clad in scarcely more than rags, and 

4 




On the Farm 


satisfied their hunger with food little better than 
was given to swine. 

The exciting day came at last for the Cook family 
to move to Great Ayton. How were they to make 
the journey of a few miles? And how were they 
to carry the few household goods they possessed? 
When James’s father had made his way from Scot¬ 
land down into England he had used “Shanks’ 
mare,” as country folk sometimes say when they are 
forced to walk. To be sure, the distance was not 
great, but the roads and pathways were rough and 
little trodden, so that days doubtless passed before 
the journey ended. 

The way to Great Ayton must have seemed long 
to James. Very likely the goods were packed on a 
stout farm horse’s back while the boys trudged along 
barefooted as was their daily habit. 

At last the new* home was in sight, with a brook 
running through the village, spanned by a strong 
stone bridge, and more houses grouped together 
than James had ever seen before. 

Best of all, there were lofty hills not far away. 
One of these, Roseberry Topping, was at least a 
thousand feet high with a summit all of sandstone. 

“What fun there will be,” James must have 
thought, “in climbing that hill and hunting for birds’ 
nests on its slopes! Roseberry Topping is so high 
that when I have reached the top I will be able to 
see the ocean, the wonderful blue ocean that stretches 
farther than the eyes can follow.” 

5 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


The boy’s dark eyes sparkled with excitement as 
he thought of the exciting life of the men who took 
long voyages on that ocean. How vast it was I One 
could sail far out on it, so people said, till all sight 
of land was lost. And still ahead would be those 
waters that seemed to have no limit, and were never 
still—not even for a moment, day or night. Mar¬ 
velous to say, also, their color changed with the 
changing sky. Now it was blue as a robin’s egg, 
now gray, and dark, and foreboding. 

With the move to Great Ayton, James was 
brought nearer to those magic waters that had hith¬ 
erto seemed to him so far, far away because rail¬ 
roads and automobiles were then unknown. And 
yet the sea had been ever striving to make the little 
fellow hear her call. 

“Behold!” she was saying, “It is not too early for 
you to be planning for a life on my breast. Gain all 
strength possible because a great experience is ahead 
of you. Dangers will be many, but you are brave 
and daring. You will not fear.” 

“And think!” she could well have added, “The 
world of men is waiting for the knowledge you will 
bring them through the discoveries that you will 
make.” 

However strongly the sea might now be calling 
to James, he was largely concerned with getting set¬ 
tled in his new home, Airy Holme Farm, on the 
borders of Great Ayton. 


6 




CHAPTER II 
The Wonderful Sea 


J AMES’S father began at once to take up his new 
duties. Besides the fairly comfortable house in 
which he and his family were to live, he was to re¬ 
ceive regular wages from Mr. Skottowe, the lord of 
the manor. On the other hand he was to hand over 
all the produce he raised to his landlord. Hard 
work was ahead of him, but he had no longer to 
fear actual want for his wife and children. 

It soon came to pass that Mr. Skottowe took as 
great a liking to little James as Mistress Walker had 
done. 

“The lad is so bright he should have a chance to 
learn,” he decided after watching him carefully. 

Accordingly, he said to James’s father, “If you 
will send the lad to the village school, I’ll pay for 
his tuition.” 

The young farmer was glad enough to accept the 
offer for his son, and James was soon busily solving 
simple problems in arithmetic and mastering pen¬ 
manship in the little cottage on the “High Green” 
where the schoolmaster, Mr. Pullen, soon discov¬ 
ered that he had a prize pupil. He saw that the 
boy did not have to be driven to study, but took a 

7 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


real joy in it. Mr. Skottowe, for his part, was so 
pleased at James’s progress that the lad was allowed 
to continue at school the greater part of the next 
four years. And since he was quick to learn, he 
must have tucked away in his head quite a deal of 
helpful knowledge. 

He had considerable time for play with his mates, 
too. With them he explored the hills and fields 
around, hunted for birds’ nests to his heart’s con¬ 
tent, and entered into other boys’ sports with a will. 
They liked him, of course—no one could have helped 
that—but they found fault with him at times. 
They declared: “James Cook wants to have his 
own way. He won’t follow what we propose if it 
doesn’t suit him. He always insists that he knows 
how to do a thing better than we do. He won’t give 
up to us, even if we threaten to go off and leave 
him.” 

A determined little fellow he was without doubt, 
and one not easily turned from what he believed the 
right way of solving a problem, whether in arithme¬ 
tic or in climbing a steep cliff. 

When he was twelve years old, his father de¬ 
clared: “The boy has all the book learning he needs. 
He must settle down to farm work now and help 
me support the family.” 

By that time several brothers and sisters had 
been born to John and James, and the household 
had many needs. Some people have since said that 
James worked with his father right there in Great 

8 




The Wonderful Sea 


Ayton for the next four years. Again, the story 
has been handed down that the good father began 
early to think of a more promising future than 
farming for such a lively, intelligent son. 

“He shall learn trading,” he finally decided, “since 
he has a mind for figures.” 

There was no opening, however, in this line for 
the lad, in Great Ayton. But at Staithes, on the 
coast fifteen miles away, lived a shopkeeper whom 
Mr. Cook knew well, and who might aid him. 

“I’ll ask Mr. Sanderson to take James to work 
for him, on trial,” he decided. 

So it came about that James, while still in his teens, 
went to Staithes which proved to be a far more won¬ 
derful place to him than Great Ayton even with its 
good schoolmaster, its high hills, and the pretty 
brook where boys could go wading and fishing for 
minnows. Staithes was on the shores of the sea 
itself! A narrow, lovely bay stretched before its 
very doors. On either side of this bay were high 
cliffs that shut in the waters. Thus the harbor made 
a safe resting place for the boats of the fisher folk 
who lived in the village, as well as for bigger craft 
that went off on long voyages. 

James loved Staithes, or The Staith as it was 
sometimes called, from the moment he arrived there. 
It was a dream place made real! The shop where 
he worked was so near to the water’s edge that 
when storms raged, the waves were likely to make 
their way to its very door. The air was filled with 

9 



The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


the delicious saltness of the sea. Fisherfolk were 
to be seen on every hand—yes, and sailors resting 
between long voyages. The sleepy quiet of the 
countryside was not to be found there. The place 
was full of mystery, and with every rise and fall 
of the tide the sea was calling to James, ever more 
loudly and insistently. Beside it, the cliffs and 
streams and meadows of his old home had no charm. 
Here, with the ocean spread directly before him, 
his fancy could wander to the ends of the earth. 

There were many drawbacks to James’s happiness 
at Staithes, however, because life inside the shop was 
far from pleasant. Mr. Sanderson was a harsh, 
coarse man and a heavy drinker. He was often cruel 
to his young assistant, beating him till his shoulders 
ached when the shopkeeper was out of temper or 
not satisfied with his work. Little did it matter to 
his master if he left heavy welts on James’s back. 
Such treatment of apprentices was common enough 
in those days, and no one criticized him for his 
cruelty. Other boys who had been bound to him 
had run away. But he had not learned the need of 
kindness, and he only considered that he had an¬ 
other youth in his power, whom he was free to 
abuse when he felt like doing so. 

It was James’s task to keep the dingy shop as 
clean as possible. He had to wash the floor, scrub 
the counters, dust the shelves, run errands, and help 
in waiting upon the customers if need be till the time 
came for closing the shop. It was a queer kind of 

io 




The Wonderful Sea 


a place, somewhat like what we find in little villages 
in this country and call a general store. On one 
side were piled groceries. On the other were bon¬ 
nets, coats, material for draperies, and so on. 

This dingy shop was the only home James knew 
for possibly eighteen months. He had scant fare 
to strengthen his tall slender body. A hunk of 
bread, a slice or two of bacon, and a mug of ale 
must satisfy his hunger. When night came, his only 
bed was a heap of straw under one of the counters, 
with rough covering of some sort. But he had no 
chance to feel lonely there. Far from it! There 
was plenty of company, though not to his liking. 
Mice scurried around his head through the hours 
of darkness, while beetles and earwigs crawled freely 
over the floor and bed coverings. 

During James’s work hours he must have gained 
a little happiness from the smiles of the fishermen’s 
kind-hearted wives who traded at the shop, the 
merry words of pretty maidens who sometimes 
passed by, and the sound of surf along the shore, 
that he could hear when the door stood open. 

Ah! but when he was freed from duty, he could 
have joy in the great outdoors. Sitting on the 
edge of the sea wall, the lad could dream con¬ 
tentedly. Then, too, he could listen with eager ears 
to the tales told by the fishermen in their idle hours. 
In good weather, when not out in their boats, they 
would sit in little groups on the quay. And between 
the long whiffs drawn from their pipes, they would 

ii 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


outvie each other in describing the approach of 
fierce storms when they were far from land, and the 
dangers that beset them when the storms raged and 
their little boats were tossed about like feathers in 
the angry waters. Or perhaps some described a 
tremendous haul of fish when fortune favored them, 
or the unexpected breaking of nets just as they were 
about to draw in their prey. 

More thrilling even than tales of this sort were 
those related by sailors who had gone far away from 
England and taken part in adventures that made 
the listening James gasp in astonishment. Some of 
these sailors had looked upon strange people with 
their own eyes! They had heard them speak in 
strange tongues! A number of them had barely 
escaped when their ships had been wrecked on 
dangerous reefs. Oh, it was all wonderful, won¬ 
derful ! Every day of those long months at Staithes 
James’s heart beat with increasing longing to leave 
his hateful tasks behind him and sail far away over 
the wide ocean to have adventures of his own. 

In biting wintry weather the sailor folk could not 
sit at their ease on the quay. Then they would 
gather at one of the inns—the Cod and Lobster, the 
Shoulder of Mutton, or the Black Lion—to drink 
and smoke and tell more tales of their “life on the 
ocean wave.” James, when free from the shop, 
would often seek them at one such place or another 
to drink in eagerly all he could hear of the exciting 
experiences that the men described. 


12 





The Wonderful Sea 


As the freezing winds blew about the inn, and the 
snow piled up about the doors, it was easy for the 
young listener to picture to himself the mighty ice¬ 
bergs encountered by the men who described danger¬ 
ous voyages far up into the Arctic in search of 
whales. With them he could in fancy send harpoons 
into the whales’ bodies and, if successful, end the 
creatures’ lives after a fierce struggle. 

James could easily imagine himself coming upon 
fierce polar bears that slowly made their way over 
floating cakes of ice in search of prey. He watched 
gentle-eyed seals sporting along the shores of bar¬ 
ren rocky lands, as happy as kittens in their play, 
and quite unconscious that human enemies were 
close upon them. 

Again, the youth would listen with eagerness to 
the stories of men who had gone forth to fight bat¬ 
tles on the sea for their king, or who had, perchance, 
spent years in sailing along the coast of their own 
country, carrying cargoes to different English ports 
and learning the ways of their countrymen. Every¬ 
thing the boy heard had interest of its own. 

Not the least thrilling to the young listener must 
have been the tales of the fishermen who never 
sailed far from home, but who had to go forth night 
after night, no matter how severe the weather, to 
catch boatloads of cod and haddock and herring. 
The sale of these brought money enough to support 
the men’s families. They must not consider pos¬ 
sible danger even though violent storms were rag- 

13 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


ing and they were leaving sweethearts and wives and 
little children behind them. In their hearts was the 
hope that they would return safe, with the arrival 
of morning light. But alas! Sometimes their frail 
boats were overpowered by wind and wave, and 
many a brave man was carried down into the deeps 
where greedy sharks were waiting to devour his 
body. 

Besides the stories James could hear within a 
stone’s throw of the shop where he lived and worked, 
there were sights to interest him not very far away. 
In fact, around the bend of Coburn Nob, one of 
the cliffs that shut in the bay, were shipyards where 
all sorts of sea craft were built. There the lad 
could, in occasional visits, watch the shaping of a 
little fishing smack, or even of a big whaler which 
was soon to be sent out from that peaceful spot to 
meet with adventure in dangerous waters. 

So it was that between the shipbuilding and the 
tales of the sailors and fishermen during their stay in 
port James’s mind was kept filled with thoughts 
of the sea and the marvels thereof. Little wonder 
was it that he had no desire to become a shopkeeper 
and sell groceries and cloth over dingy counters for 
the rest of his life. 




CHAPTER III 
The Runaway 

I WON’T stay here any longer,” James said to 
himself after eighteen months had passed by in 
Mr. Sanderson’s shop, and he was still dusting 
shelves, scrubbing floors, and running errands for his 
hard taskmaster. 

His love of the sea had been growing ever 
deeper through the long months till his heart was 
filled with one tremendous longing: to follow the 
life of a sailor on the great ocean. 

“I’ll run away!” the youth decided. “I’ll go to 
Whitby ten miles from here. It is a wondrously 
big town, close to the sea like Staithes, but busier, 
oh, much busier ! There are large shipbuilding yards 
at Whitby and big vessels go out from there to trade 
with other countries. I am sure I can get a job as 
a sailor on one of them. And then—then!” 

Many a happy dream of the future filled James’s 
mind after he had once determined on the great 
venture and was making his plans for departure. 

The last evening (it was that of the Sabbath) 
arrived to find him in his bed under the counter. 

Mr. Sanderson, little guessing what was shortly 
to happen, drank an unusual amount of grog that 

15 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


evening. Then he sought his couch to sleep heavily 
from the effects of the liquor. 

How much James slept that night we shall never 
learn. It is enough for us to know that, with the 
first ray of light next morning, he was wide awake 
and moving softly about the shop. He dressed 
himself and got his belongings together. An easy 
task, that last! His one handkerchief was spread 
out, and in it he tied his extra shirt and a treasured 
jackknife. 

Now for the start, after a bite or two to stay 
his stomach on the long tramp. Then out of the 
shop, down through the narrow village street he 
hurried, with the people in the houses he passed still 
peaceably asleep, ignorant that young James Cook 
was daring to run away. In those days there were 
no roads stretching between the village and Whitby. 
Rough bridle paths had to be followed, but little 
concern was that to the would-be sailor lad. 

Perhaps even in the midst of his joy over his new 
freedom he still felt a little sad at leaving pretty 
Staithes behind him, with its red-roofed cottages and 
its quaint inns in which sailors and fishermen were 
wont to gather. But the youth’s thoughts must have 
been mainly busy with the glorious life he believed 
was ahead of him. 

As he hurried along with head held high and with 
rapid strides of his long legs, excitement was brew¬ 
ing in the home of the Sandersons. The master, 
who had slept later than usual, woke up and looked 

16 




The Runaway 


out of his window. By the high tide on the shore, 
he knew that it was close to six o’clock. It was time 
for his helper, James, to be busy opening up the 
shop and cleaning it up for customers. But there 
was no sound below! 

As the master dressed himself, he thought with an 
ugly frown, “If that lazy scamp has overslept him¬ 
self, he shall have a good beating.” 

Furious with anger, he went down the narrow 
stairs and entered the shop. The shutters were still 
closed! No broom had as yet brushed the floor! 

And then, so the story goes, the shopkeeper with 
fury in his eyes sought the corner where he kept 
his stout stick—his oft-used instrument of torture. 

“I’ll see that that young scoundrel gets what he 
deserves,” he promised himself, as with staff in 
hand he moved noiselessly towards the counter 
under which he expected to find his sleeping assistant. 
The bed was empty! 

The master went to the door. He found the bolt 
had been drawn. James had run away—that was 
certain—like other apprentices before him who had 
worked in the shop and been fired, like him, with the 
longing for a seafarer’s life. 

“Hm!” grunted Mr. Sanderson, “I’ll see if that 
useless fellow took aught with him to help him on his 
way.” 

Accordingly, the shopkeeper went suspiciously to 
the till where change was kept. 

17 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


“I left a new shilling there yesterday,” he mut¬ 
tered. “I’ll see if it is there still.” 

On opening it he found it empty. “James took it, 
the wretch,” he said to himself. 

Going to the door, with the empty till in his hand, 
he called to some men who happened to be standing 
outside, “Ha ye seen James Cook? He’s run awa’ 
and robbed the till of a shilling.” 

One of the men, a wise old fellow, spoke up at 
once. “Thou robbed the till thysel’ last night to 
pay for the grog thou drank. Art thou still too 
drunk to mind goin’ oot for the shilling?” 

That should have settled the matter. James had 
always been an honest lad as the village folk well 
knew, but it was as easy then as now to suspect 
wrong of others, so that the tale of a stolen shilling 
was repeated for a while by many an evil tongue 
after the runaway had left his life at Staithes far 
behind him. 

Long afterwards, when he had become a hero to 
all the world, the tale was a far different one. Then 
every one who had even talked with the youth was 
proud of the fact. Chance words he had said were 
repeated again and again. His good qualities were 
boasted of. And even a certain honor was attached 
to the storekeeper because James Cook had once 
served him. Just now, however, we may wonder 
for a moment why Mr. Sanderson did not start out 
with some fellow villagers in pursuit of the run¬ 
away. It was without doubt, because that would 

18 





The Runaway 


have been easier said than done, for the surround¬ 
ing country was largely a hilly wilderness, and travel¬ 
ing both afoot and on horseback was extremely 
difficult. Moreover, no one could be certain as to 
the direction the youth had chosen to follow. So 
let us turn to join James as he entered the bustling 
town of Whitby that bright July day nearly two 
hundred, years ago. 




CHAPTER IV 


Off to Sea 


W HEW! what a busy place! Surely there 
will be a chance for me there.” In such 
wise, James talked to himself as he reached the top 
of a steep cliff and looked down at the town of 
Whitby stretched below. 

Though it was still early in the day, the smoke 
rising from the furnaces already set to work was 
so thick that objects were not as clear to the run¬ 
away’s eyes as he might have wished. Yet he 
could see the red-tiled roofs of the houses built 
along the slopes below him and the outlines of the 
church standing on a cliff to the east, that could be 
reached from the lower town only by climbing two 
hundred steps. 

On looking more closely still, James could make 
out the town hall and the big market on the low 
stretch of land by the water’s edge. But what 
thrilled him most was a ship with sails set, moving 
grandly out of the harbor. Where was she bound? 
How long a voyage was ahead of the men who 
sailed her. 

And, yes! there was another ship lying at the 
dock. She was being loaded rapidly. Perhaps the 

20 


Off to Sea 


main part of her cargo was already on board, and 
she was nearly ready to depart for distant shores. 

“I’ll go thither as fast as possible,” James said 
to himself. “Who knows but I may get a job on 
that very ship?” 

With all possible speed the youth descended the 
cliff. Then, in his usual straightforward fashion, 
he made his way to the vessel lying at the dock. 

Something in his manly, cheery face must have 
pleased the mate who had charge of the loading 
of the vessel because, when James saluted him re¬ 
spectfully, he at once appeared ready to answer the 
youth’s questions. 

“Please, sir, I want to get a job as a sailor,” ex¬ 
plained James. 

He had to admit that he had had no experience 
in this line. But he was ready to do his best and 
was sure he could learn fast. 

“I believe this young stranger will quickly make 
himself useful,” decided the mate, and he advised 
James to Seek the owners of the ship, two Quaket 
brothers. 

Following his directions, the youth at once sought 
the house of the coal merchants, John and Henry 
Walker, to repeat the tale he had told the mate. 

We may well believe that the lad’s heart was 
light, as well as his steps, as he hurried along with 
high hopes that his dream was to be realized. His 
mind was too busy otherwise to heed the children 
playing about the pier. Perhaps, even, his ears 

21 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


were closed to the sound of the hammers plied by the 
builders in the near-by shipyard as they worked on 
one of the famous Whitby ships, known for their 
strength in withstanding the liveliest gales. 

One thought alone possessed him: “I will get my¬ 
self bound in service if possible on board the Free- 
love as the mate suggested.” 

A few minutes’ walk brought James to the office 
of the brothers who owned the ship and traded in 
the towns along the coast. 

Mr. John Walker, a calm, kindly man, listened 
with patience to James’s story. From the start he 
was interested in the young stranger and sympa¬ 
thized with his longing for a life on the sea in¬ 
stead of spending his days in a tiresome shop. Look¬ 
ing into James’s steady bright eyes, he saw only 
good there. And in the youth’s determined chin 
he noted purpose. 

“It is clear enough,” he thought, “that here is no 
weakling, but just the kind of fellow to make a first- 
rate sailor.” 

The honest Quaker, however, being a just man, 
deliberated: “If the youth wishes to bind himself to 
the ship for a term of years, he must have his 
father’s permission before I can accept his serviecs. 
If that can be obtained, all will be well.” 

The story goes that the desired permission was 
obtained and James entered upon his new life with 
pride and delight. 


22 




Off to Sea 


No doubt he pictured to himself freedom such as 
he had never had on land. How grand it must be 
to spend day after day, week after week, in the in¬ 
vigorating sea air! And then there were to be won¬ 
derful adventures, to say nothing of the constant 
company of men who had spent years on the ocean, 
and who could teach him the control of a ship, 
how to manage the sails, how to work the rudder. 
Not always would he be at the beck and call of the 
officers and sailors, as he must be at first. Oh, no! 
The time would come when he would be a master 
among them. But he must be faithful in little ways; 
he must not complain; he must expect to bear hard¬ 
ship. 

Do you imagine that young James Cook glanced 
even for a moment at the other side of the picture? 
I doubt it. Of course he must have known that the 
fare would be rough. His own food in the past had 
certainly been poor enough. But to eat biscuit day 
after day, so hard that his strong teeth must struggle 
to break them into bits, and furthermore, to find a 
certain kind of beetles, called weevils, already at 
home in the biscuits, this would be a new and de¬ 
cidedly unpleasant experience. And then to be 
served “junk” and no other meat whatever through¬ 
out a voyage—junk that was as salt as brine, and 
so tough that it was well-nigh impossible to chew it! 
An unappetizing diet sailors had in those early days 
—that was certain. It was fortunate that those 
seafaring men had stout appetites, and that they 

23 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


were satisfied if only the wretched food they ate 
stopped the craving of their stomachs. 

Worse than such rations was the wretched dis¬ 
ease that frequently attacked the sailors on long 
ocean voyages, after living upon them too steadily. 
It was called scurvy. It caused the gums to bleed 
and the teeth to fall out, it brought loss of flesh and 
weakness, and death generally ended the lives of the 
sufferers. In fact, the victims had no chance of get¬ 
ting well unless the ship reached a landing place 
where they could obtain the fresh meat and vege¬ 
tables their bodies demanded. 

As for the bed upon which young James must lie, 
he knew beforehand what to expect—a hammock 
swung, very likely, in dark stuffy quarters below 
decks where the pitching and tossing of the vessel 
would be felt distressingly in time of storm. 

“Even this could be no worse than a pile of straw 
under the counter of the shop at Staithes,” James 
might have told you. “And as for the cockroaches 
and rats that share the quarters of the sailors, why, 
,they are not a bit worse than the mice and earwigs 
I’ve been used to at Mr. Sanderson’s store.” 

As for the oaths and cuffs that the officers freely 
distributed among the seamen, James could have no 
fear of them—he had been used to such treatment 
in the past. It could be no worse now. Mr. San¬ 
derson, however, did not possess a cat-o’-nine-tails 
with which to flay the backs of his apprentices. This 
dread instrument of torture was commonly used on 

24 




Off to Sea 


board most of the ships that sailed in those days, 
though it is quite likely it was not resorted to on 
the craft belonging to the Quaker merchants who 
did not encourage having the sailors on their ships 
treated with harshness. Consequently, there was 
little likelihood of mutiny on board the Freelove. In 
many other vessels of the day, the officers felt 
obliged to stand ready, at a moment’s notice, to fall 
upon the men with their swords or sharp-pointed 
knives. Otherwise, they might lose their lives at 
the hands of the men they had abused unduly. 

Altogether James might well feel fortunate that 
it had fallen to his lot to be taken as an apprentice 
on board the stout little vessel that had been built 
right there in a Whitby shipyard. 

He was ignorant, oh, so ignorant, of the duties 
he had to perform. But he set to work with a will, 
and was speedily mastering the most difficult lessons 
in handling the ship and gaining skill in going aloft 
with the agility of a cat. Even when violent winds 
arose, and the vessel swung suddenly over on her 
side, he had no fear, but remained as firm on his 
feet as the most toughened sailor. 

He had plenty of hard work but the mate who had 
taken a liking to James when he first set eyes on 
him was unusually sparing in the cuffs and hard 
words generally administered to underlings. 

“Young Cook will fulfill my early promise to 
him,” he doubtless meditated as he watched him 
carrying out orders, always cheerfully, always speed- 

25 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


ily, and with unusual understanding. “Who knows 
but he will rise in time to the position of mate, even 
as I have done?” he thought. 

Week after week passed by with James growing 
ever more rugged and agile though he often turned 
into his bunk with aching limbs when hours for rest 
arrived. But he must have been gloriously happy 
even then, with the waves dashing against the ship 
to lull him to undreaming sleep and the skies brood¬ 
ing tenderly over the ship as she sailed on and on. 

There were times of the greatest jollity too, when 
James was free to join a group of sailors gathered 
on deck in the starlight to sing gay songs of the sea 
or tell stories of wild adventure. Oh, there could 
be no life, after all, to James’s thinking, so free and 
joyous as that of a sailor, in spite of the hardships 
he must undergo. 

Since the Walker brothers were coal merchants, 
the cargoes with which the vessel was loaded were 
carried mainly to places along the eastern coast of 
England, even down to the great city of London 
itself. A wonderful place it must have appeared to 
the country lad when he first visited London, with 
its big buildings and noisy streets. If that seemed 
so marvelous to him, how think you, would the 
London of to-day appear to him with its subways 
and railways, its tens of thousands of autos and 
trucks, its telephone and telegraph wires, its air¬ 
planes flying over the heads of the people below? 

In course of time James went on longer voyages 

26 




Off to Sea 


than to England’s capital. He sailed more than 
once across the North Sea, clear to Norway where 
he met people speaking an unknown tongue, and with 
habits and customs quite different from those of 
“Merrie England.” So the youth’s knowledge of 
the world broadened, and in the meantime he lost 
no chance to learn all he could about seamanship, 
not only through experience on board ship but 
through the handbooks used by the captain and 
mate, which he read whenever chance offered. 

He spent the time between voyages at Mr. Walk¬ 
er’s home, for such was the custom with sailor ap¬ 
prentices in those days. It was a plain home in 
which the housekeeper, Mistress Mary Prowd, kept 
the big house in orderly Quaker fashion. In sum¬ 
mer there were only brief stays for the ship in port; 
but in severe winter weather she was sometimes 
laid up for months. 

Do you imagine that the young apprentice filled 
those -weeks of idleness with mischievous deeds? 
Indeed not! His appetite for knowledge never 
seemed to lull, and in the Quaker home there were 
precious books that James was avid to devour. 

Now Mistress Mary Prowd was pleased with the 
youth. She must have said to herself, “Here is no 
common sailor. He is ambitious, and book learning 
will help him.” 

So when James asked if she would let him have 
a little table in a corner of the room where he and 
his mate ate their meals and where the talk of 

27 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


others would not disturb him in his study, she 
granted his request. More than this, she let him 
have a candle by whose light he could read and 
write during the long winter evenings. 

Mr. Walker, who had had to do with many sail¬ 
ors, looked on the young student with interest, as 
he noted how eager he was to learn, and especially 
to gain knowledge in regard to navigating a ship. 

For several years young Cook served faithfully 
aboard the Freelove. Then came a time when his 
employers decided to keep him on shore helping to 
fit up a ship called the Three Brothers. When she 
was ready for sea he went with her on coaling trips 
along the coast. Afterwards he was still one of her 
crew when she carried troops of soldiers to near-by 
countries where England was carrying on war. 

During those busy years no experiences that fell 
to the lot of this adventure-loving youth were more 
interesting than the trading voyages to Norway on 
the Three Brothers, and his opportunity to learn the 
ways of a country unlike his own. During one of 
these trips a heavy gale arose. Violent winds blew 
against the vessel, bringing strange visitors. These 
were countless birds in such danger of their lives 
from the fierceness of the gale that they took refuge 
in the rigging of the Three Brothers which became 
fairly covered with the helpless creatures. Alas, 
some among them were hawks who took advantage 
of the opportunity to destroy many of the smaller 
and weaker birds. James, whose heart was tender 

28 




Off to Sea 


toward all suffering, could never afterwards forget 
the pitiful sight. 

When the young seaman had reached his twenty- 
fourth year, he was rewarded for faithful service 
by being made mate of a new vessel owned by the 
Walker brothers. It was called the Friendship. 

“James Cook deserves the promotion,” these good 
men decided. “We can trust him to fulfill his new 
duties as well as all others that have fallen to him 
in years past.” 

To become mate so soon! It seemed a remark¬ 
able rise to those who knew the young man. His 
heart must have leaped with joy as he thought that 
henceforth he was to command —no longer be at 
another’s beck and call, but to be of direct aid to 
the captain in running the ship. Mate! How glori¬ 
ous the word must have sounded in James’s ears! 

And then, the home folks! w r hat joy there was 
in the little household at Great Ayton when word 
came that the one-time barefooted boy tending cattle 
on his employer’s farm, was now a man of authority 
in a grand uniform, with pay that seemed colossal 
to his humble family. 

By this time James’s father had himself risen in 
the world. He was no longer a farm servant to Mr. 
Skottowe but had set himself up as a builder in the 
little village and had a comfortable cottage of his 
own. 

Three years passed by rapidly on the Friendship 
with the young mate developing steadily in ability 

29 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


to command the sailors below him in the manage¬ 
ment of the ship. 

By the end of that time the Walker brothers were 
so satisfied with James that they were ready to pro¬ 
mote him still further. They decided to make him 
captain of the ship. Then something happened that 
prevented their carrying out this plan for his further 


success. 




CHAPTER V 


In the King’s Service 


W E can never tell when we will be pressed into 
the King’s service.” 

So the seamen aboard the Friendship were agreed. 
Many a time they had heard of their fellows being 
treated in this way. In fact, whenever more men 
were needed on a warship, sailors were seized when 
they happened to touch shore or even in the midst of 
a voyage. Then they were carried on board one of 
His Majesty’s vessels to go wherever the officer in 
charge commanded. 

“Sometimes there’s a goodly fight before they are 
mastered,” so the gossiping sailors heard. But in 
the end they had to submit and make the best of it. 
The English laws were against them, so it was far 
better for them afterwards if they went willingly. 

While James Cook was serving as mate on board 
the Friendship a serious war arose between Eng¬ 
land and France. 

“We must have a large increase of men in our 
navy,” so the leading members of the English gov¬ 
ernment decided. “Our warships must be ably 
manned.” 

Consequently the crews of sailing vessels never 

3i 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


felt safe from being seized by the “press gang.” In 
the big city of London the government agents were 
particularly busy, because ships were constantly com¬ 
ing into port there. 

The young mate, James Cook, now twenty-seven 
years old, was somewhat troubled. “I don’t want 
to lose the high position I have gained,” he thought. 
“And if I am forced into the King’s service, I may 
very likely stand no higher in the navy than any 
common sailor.” 

So, while the Friendship lay to at the London 
dock, Cook, like many another seaman, kept in hid¬ 
ing as much as possible. 

“It certainly is not safe to frequent taverns and 
other public places,” he thought, “because I’d be 
seized at once.” 

But he soon changed his mind about the whole 
matter. “I’ll enlist in the King’s service,” he de¬ 
cided. “I will get a recommendation from the 
Walker brothers as to my character and ability. 
Then I may be given a much better position than 
would fall to my lot if I were pressed into the navy 
against my will.” 

He showed wisdom in making this decision, as was 
soon evident. After obtaining the recommendation 
he desired, he went out to Wapping, a town near 
London where enlistments were made. There he 
offered himself as a volunteer on board the Eagle y 
a warship commanded by Captain Joseph Hamer, 
and stationed in Portsmouth Harbor, soon to sail 

32 





In the King’s Service 


forth to meet the enemy. James Cook had not 
served many days on the man-of-war before the 
officers began to see that here was no ordinary vol¬ 
unteer. He knew so much about navigating a ves¬ 
sel ! He was so faithful, so alert! Of one thing 
only was he ignorant—he had had no experience in 
handling the guns. If necessary, this knowledge 
could be speedily gained by such an intelligent, quick¬ 
witted fellow. 

The rank of able seaman had already been given 
to Cook. Soon afterwards the studious young sea 
lover found himself holding the title of master’s 
mate, with much power at his command. 

Do you understand what this rank meant? In 
olden times, the captain of a man-of-war was a sol¬ 
dier having special charge of the men who did the 
fighting. He had full command during a naval en¬ 
gagement. 

On the other hand, the office of “master” of an 
ordinary vessel corresponded to that of captain, as 
we understand it to-day. He guided the ship on its 
course, and gave orders to the sailors. He had 
need of a good assistant in his many duties. 

It so happened that at the time young Cook vol¬ 
unteered on the Eagle the crew was not as large as 
it should have been, while many of those in the 
service had been “pressed” into it and were ignorant 
landsmen who were consequently of little use at first. 
Great indeed must have been the master’s joy when 
he discovered what a valuable helper he had gained. 

33 



The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


Lively work was ahead of the young man. Only 
six days after his enlistment, Captain Hamer re¬ 
ceived an order somewhat like this: “Fit the ship 
with everything necessary for a long voyage and en¬ 
counters with the enemy. You will then make your 
way with all speed to the Leeward Islands, ready 
for action there.” 

But when it was learned that the captain did not 
have the proper number of men and marines, the 
order was changed. 

“Go with whatever crew you have,” he was told, 
“to the waters between the Island of Scilly and Cape 
Clear. You are then to cruise about in those 
waters.” 

How do you think the fearless young mate, 
scarcely at home as yet on a man-of-war, felt now? 
Without doubt he bestirred himself to act his part in 
the dangers he must expect. That part showed itself 
a lively one when shortly after setting sail, a violent 
storm arose. Hither and thither the ship was tossed 
by the angry winds, and her injuries were so serious 
that she was taken back to Plymouth for repairs. 

“While a new mast is being set up, I’ll have the 
bottom of the boat cleaned and scraped,” decided 
Captain Hamer. 

After port was reached the mast proved to be all 
right, and Captain Hamer was blamed by the Lords 
of the Admiralty for his return. 

“We will put another captain in his place,” they 
decided indignantly. 


34 







The chase was an exciting one . 













The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


Accordingly, Captain Hugh Palliser, who had 
lately returned from a voyage to America, was given 
command of the Eagle which soon put to sea to at¬ 
tack any enemy vessels that might be approached 
unawares. 

A few days afterwards young Cook found himself 
doing his utmost to overtake a French vessel that 
appeared. 

The chase was an exciting one. The Eagle might 
have succeeded had she not met with an accident: her 
main topmast broke and some of the rigging was 
injured. Not a moment was to be lost now in re¬ 
pairing the damage! But unfortunately, by the time 
the repairs were made, the French ship was out of 
danger from the Eagle’s guns. Young Cook was 
sorely disappointed at this; but that very evening 
the English man-of-war Monmouth hove in sight. 
The two ships, the Eagle and the Monmouth, set 
chase the next morning and it so happened that the 
honor of capturing the enemy man-of-war fell to the 
Monmouth. 

After that the Eagle made several small captures 
herself before she returned to Plymouth where she 
was stationed for nearly four months afterwards. 

During that period, young Cook, strong and 
healthy as he usually was, was attacked by illness 
and taken to the hospital where he recovered in a 
short time. 

He was as fine a looking man in those days as one 
might wish to see. Straight as an arrow he was, and 

36 





In the King’s Service 


tall—over six feet in height. His face was one to 
be remembered—narrow and thin, with high cheek 
bones. He had a long straight nose, a mouth and 
chin that showed great firmness, and eyes that were 
piercingly bright, though small and deep-set. 

In his position as master’s mate, he quickly won 
the respect of the sailors who were under his orders. 
“He is stern, but just,” they would have told you. 
While they feared him, they also trusted him. Sel¬ 
dom did they hesitate about doing his bidding. 

Before two years had passed in his new position, 
orders came for the ship to cross the wide Atlantic 
and sail directly to Louisburg which stood on a 
promontory of Cape Breton Island off the Canadian 
coast. French troops held that island and were 
doing all they could to keep English vessels from 
carrying on trade along the coast. 

“We must take Louisburg from the French.” So 
declared the English government. 

Young Cook must have been filled with delight at 
the prospect before him. Many adventures he had 
had already in his voyages in the dangerous North 
Sea. But he was now to sail thousands of miles 
across an ocean then little known, and draw close 
to the shores of the great continent, North America, 
of which many a tale had come to his ears. Yes, 
and there was likely to be fighting. He must be 
prepared for brave deeds and quick action. 

Little is known about the long voyage except that 
it was made in safety. In due time the fortress of 

37 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


Louisburg was reached, and after a lively defense 
had been carried on by the French, the English suc¬ 
ceeded in getting possession of it and also of the 
whole of Cape Breton Island. While doing this 
they took five French frigates and destroyed five 
others. 

After this great achievement, Cook returned to 
England, hardy and enduring as ever, with the will 
to overcome every difficulty that should come in his 
way. 

During the very next year, 1759, he had his re¬ 
ward. 

“You are appointed to be master of the Gram¬ 
pus,” he was told. 

Not much over thirty years old and master of a 
vessel! It seemed almost beyond belief that he 
should receive such a promotion when he had served 
so short a time in the navy; yet so it was. 

As it was, the order was changed almost at once; 
he was to be transferred to the Garland. Immedi¬ 
ately afterwards the order was again changed when 
it appeared that the Garland had already left Eng¬ 
land for action elsewhere. 

“You are to be master of the Mercury Cook now 
was told, “and sail for Canada.” 

Fie learned, furthermore, that his vessel was to 
be one of a fleet ordered to lay siege to the power¬ 
ful French fortress at Quebec. 

“Sir Charles Saunders is commander of the fleet,” 
Cook was informed. 


38 




In the King’s Service 


He also learned in due time that the fleet was to 
give aid from the St. Lawrence River after an army 
under General Wolfe had landed on the shore to 
storm the citadel at close range. 

Thus with thrilling adventures ahead of him the 
young master sailed a second time across the Atlan¬ 
tic. Once arrived in the St. Lawrence, he was speed¬ 
ily set to work on a dangerous undertaking. 

“To my thinking,” was the advice that Captain 
Palliser, who had a high opinion of Cook’s ability 
and wisdom, had given the Admiral, “you would do 
well to choose James Cook for this enterprise.” 

Because of Palliser’s words, therefore, Cook was 
ordered to make the soundings, and he set to his 
task with a will. 

Secretly, as he understood well, he must make his 
examination of the river because he would be under 
the very nose of the enemy. 

“I must choose the darkness of the night for 
my work,” so he told himself. “And there must 
be no noise—not the slightest, else I will be discov¬ 
ered, and the French guns be directed against us. 
Then a speedy death for my men and myself.” 

His plans were soon made. When the sun had 
gone to rest and darkness had fallen upon earth 
and sea, the master set forth in a small launch with 
a few companions. Their oars were muffled. They 
spoke only in whispers. 

In due time they reached the part of the river 
where the soundings were to be made, and the boat 

39 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 

lay to. Then Cook, who had been watching care¬ 
fully for the position he was seeking, drew from its 
place a long rope with a heavy lead fastened to the 
end. Over the boat’s edge he threw the rope, let¬ 
ting the lead sink till it touched the river bottom. 

He next drew out his notebook in which to record 
the depth to which the lead had fallen. Then, with¬ 
out delay, his companions rowed the launch to an¬ 
other place and a second sounding was made. And 
so on and on to one part of the river after another, 
moved the master and his men, with every moment 
fraught with danger from the guns of the enemy 
on the near-by shore. 

All too rapidly the hours passed for the busy 
worker till the first rays of the rising sun began to 
light up the sleeping world. Then, at a signal from 
Cook, his men drove the launch farther away from 
the dangerous shore, till all were able at last to 
breathe freely as they reached the English ships 
lying out of reach of the enemy’s guns. 

Night after night found Cook busy in the same 
way, with momentary possibility of his discovery by 
the French. But throughout that time of danger 
he was making soundings that were to be of great 
aid to the English in the forthcoming conflict with 
the French. 

In the meantime the enemy were awakening to the 
fact that something was wrong. 

“I’ll press our Indian friends into service,” de¬ 
cided the commander at Montmorency. “They must 

40 





In the King’s Service 


discover for me if any immediate danger is threaten¬ 
ing us from the river.” 

Indian tribesmen who were friendly to the French 
were prevailed on to gather in the woods along the 
shore past which Cook would be returning to his 
headquarters. With the first suggestion of day¬ 
light a band of red men crept down to the water’s 
edge and leaped into their light birch canoes. Then, 
while the shadows of night still lay upon the river, 
they paddled out into the deeper waters. 

Not a sound of their approach had been heard by 
Cook or his companions when they found themselves 
surrounded by the savages. No longer silent, the 
red men filled the air with fiendish yells and leaped 
madly about in their canoes, at the same time draw¬ 
ing closer and closer to the English launch which 
they were planning to board. 

Cook, though taken completely unawares, re¬ 
mained calm and cool as ever. 

“We are so few in numbers and the Indians so 
many,” he decided promptly, “it would be useless to 
fight with them. Our only chance lies in flight.” 

“Give way!” he ordered, and at the command, 
his men bent to their oars. 

“Our lives are at stake,” all realized, as they 
strained to their utmost. 

The red men, paddling with equal speed, were 
shortly surrounding them till a single loophole re¬ 
mained between two canoes that had not as yet 
closed in the circle. Through that the launch shot 

4i 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


with the speed of a rocket. On it drove toward 
English quarters, which happened to be the grounds 
of a hospital on the island of Orleans where a guard 
was stationed to defend it. 

Even then, safety was not assured for Cook and 
his companions. So close upon them was one of 
the canoes that some of the savages began to leap 
into the stern of the launch just as Cook sprang to 
the shore from the bow of the boat. 

It was a narrow escape for him and his men. 
They had saved themselves in the nick of time. The 
Indians did not dare to pursue them farther. Nev¬ 
ertheless, they succeeded in making off with the 
launch, and were at a safe distance from the island 
before the English soldiers on shore had gathered 
to attack them. 

Fortunately for Cook, the soundings required by 
the admiral had been completed the night before. 
So he now busied himself making a map of the 
channel of the St. Lawrence which he had been ex¬ 
ploring, together with details of the soundings he 
had taken. 

But how had he, an almost untrained draftsman, 
succeeded in performing such a difficult task? He 
must have used his wits, as people say, in learning 
all he could through his power of keen observation. 

So pleased indeed was the admiral with Cook’s 
maps that the young master was called upon to give 
his services soon afterwards in another dangerous 
undertaking, since Canada was still in the hands of 

42 




In the King’s Service 


the French, and Quebec had not as yet been seized. 

“I must know still more of the St. Lawrence if 
the English fleet is to remain safe here,” thought 
Admiral Saunders. “The river below Quebec is 
particularly dangerous to navigate. Ah! I’ll have 
Cook make careful surveys there.” 

Cook was accordingly soon performing this new 
task, and he did it so thoroughly that the chart he 
made was used ever afterwards. 

“It is good enough,” Admiral Saunders decided. 
And it must have been because of his appreciation 
of the young man’s ability that Cook was trans¬ 
ferred not long afterwards to the mastership of the 
Admiral’s own ship, the Northumberland y a man-of- 
war of the first rank. 

Before this happened, however, the famous battle 
with the French had been fought on the Plains of 
Abraham and Quebec had come into the hands of 
the English, though the noble General Wolfe had 
fallen a victim in the siege. 

It is now believed that Cook had no direct part in 
the undertaking, but was performing some duty else¬ 
where till after Quebec had been taken. With his 
brave spirit and love of adventure, he must have 
been grievously disappointed that he had no share in 
the victory. 

During the winter months that followed, all was 
quiet for the fleet, and the Northumberland lay 
anchored in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. 
But Cook was not idle. 


43 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


“Now is the chance for study,” he told himself. 
“There is much still for me to learn, especially in 
mathematics, Euclid, and astronomy, if I am to ad¬ 
vance in seamanship.” 

Day after day, therefore, found him busily “plug¬ 
ging away” as boys would say, at the most tiresome- 
looking books. But to Cook they were filled with 
wonder. Through them he would learn much about 
marine surveying of which he was as yet ignorant. 
He could also gain knowledge in chart-making, tak¬ 
ing observations, and making calculations in regard 
to latitude and longitude. 

Thus the cold months flew by rapidly, with the 
master gaining valuable knowledge through his 
studies, as well as the ability to rule over his men 
with increasing power. 

He wasn’t perfect, of course—that should not be 
expected in the greatest hero. He had a quick 
temper which he did not always control. But there 
was often good reason for his anger. He himself 
was a tremendous worker, full of energy, hating 
laziness. So when his men showed carelessness and 
held back in the performance of their duties, he was 
sometimes angry with them. In the main, however, 
he was remarkably just and interested in the wel¬ 
fare of his crew. While his men feared him, they 
trusted him and willingly obeyed his commands. 




CHAPTER VI 
Wedding Bells 


T HE Northumberland is to sail to Newfound¬ 
land,” Cook was told early in the year 1762, 
after spending months of quiet while his ship lay an¬ 
chored at Halifax. He was told further why he 
was ordered to Newfoundland. As it was still in 
the hands of the French, the British were anxious to 
get it into their power, together with the rest of 
Canada. Accordingly, he turned all his energy to 
the new task which fell to him. He was to draw a 
plan of the harbor with the heights along the shore, 
before which the British fleet were soon gathered for 
the coming siege. He was so accurate and skillful 
in performing this task that he won great praise 
from the principal officers of the fleet. 

Thus, because of his aid, and the strength of the 
British forces, Newfoundland was soon conquered, 
and the Northumberland was free to make her way 
home before the year ended. 

Once more then, Cook sailed across the Atlantic, 
and after his return to England his heart was filled 
with pride at the praise given him for his splendid 
services in America. 

“He showed genius and capacity throughout.” 

45 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


In some such words Lord Colville, Captain of the 
Northumberland, wrote to that person of authority, 
the Secretary of the Admiralty. 

The young man, only thirty-four years old, after 
receiving an honorable discharge from the navy, 
was now free for a while to do as he pleased. 

From the time he had started out as a cabin boy 
nearly twenty years before till now, he had had no 
time to think of anything but the sea and adventures 
thereon. 

But now, quite naturally, his mind turned to what 
was of deepest interest to most men; he felt that a 
home with a loving wife and little children to fill 
it with cheer and happiness, must be very beautiful. 

It is not strange, therefore, that he fell in love 
with a pretty rosy-cheeked maiden who lived in Es¬ 
sex, near London, and whom Cook met shortly 
after he landed in England. 

“She is the wife for me,” decided the young man. 

And Elizabeth Batts, the girl who had won his 
heart? Well, she must have been quick to return 
young Cook’s love, as well as proud that she, a girl 
of the middle class, had been chosen by a ship’s 
master who had already won high praise for service 
to his country. 

So it came about that one month after young Cook 
set foot on English soil, the church bells rang mer¬ 
rily at the wedding of those two, just as church bells 
had pealed forth similar joyful news long years be¬ 
fore for James’s father and mother. 

46 




Wedding Bells 


The happy bride and groom went to housekeep¬ 
ing at once in a cozy little home in the East End of 
London. 

Four months filled with gladness passed by for 
the young couple. Then came the news that must 
have made the fair Elizabeth’s heart heavy. Cap¬ 
tain Graves, who was to go to Newfoundland to 
make maps of the island and vicinity, asked James 
Cook to go with him to assist in his undertaking. 

Thus it came about that the lively young bride 
had to bid good-by to her lover-husband, but she 
had one thought to comfort her: he might not have 
to be away from her very long. Moreover, he was 
to act as marine surveyor, which was a position of 
importance, and this gave her reason for added 
pride in her adored James. 

When the Atlantic had been crossed, Cook was 
promptly given his first task. 

“I want you to survey the islands of St. Pierre 
and Miquelon,” Captain Graves told him. 

The war between France and England was now 
ended, you must understand, and the Treaty of 
Paris had been made between the two countries. 
One of its terms was that St. Pierre and Miquelon 
were henceforth to be in French possession. 

“It is well, however, for my country to have full 
knowledge of the waters around the islands,” the 
captain had decided. “Hence Surveyor Cook had 
best examine them thoroughly and make accurate 

47 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


charts of the same before the French arrive to take 
possession. 

No time must be lost, therefore, in making the 
survey, and Cook, leaving the big ship which had 
brought him across the ocean, started in a small 
schooner to carry out his orders. 

All went well for the first three days. Then a 
grievous accident befell Cook. He happened to be 
holding in his hand a large horn filled with powder. 
Somehow or other, there came a violent explosion. 
The powder had taken fire and the horn burst into 
fragments. On the instant the brave man’s hand 
was horribly mangled and his thumb was torn apart 
from the rest of it. 

The suffering must have been frightful, and there 
was no means at hand of relieving it even slightly. 
Only one thing could be done: an instant return to 
the Grenville for aid. But alas! There was no 
physician on board the ship. So now the order was 
given: Set sail for Neddy’s Harbor at once. 

It seems that there was a physician on a French 
ship stationed in that harbor, and he would doubt¬ 
less be able to give the needed help. 

In the meantime Cook was enduring the most 
intense pain, and hours had to pass before he re¬ 
ceived any aid. And then? It was not what skilled 
surgeons to-day, with the aid of anaesthetics, are 
able to give. There was no kindly ether, no mor¬ 
phine even, with which to ease Cook’s sufferings. In 

48 




Wedding Bells 


those days a glass of strong liquor might perhaps be 
drunk to increase a person’s courage while boiling 
pitch was poured into a wound to allay inflammation, 
but that would be the only help. 

We may be sure that James Cook did not cringe 
under the ordeal. On the other hand, he was so im¬ 
patient at the delay caused by the accident that he 
insisted that some one else should go on with the 
work till he could take charge of it once more. 

During his enforced days of idleness, there was 
plenty of excitement on board the ship. One day, 
for instance, the sailors drank too heavily of a kind 
of grog, and many of them got drunk. In that state, 
they became quarrelsome and rose up against their 
officers. It was a dangerous condition of affairs and 
quick action was needed to stop the mutiny; but 
Cook was equal to the situation. Three of the worst 
offenders were promptly bound on deck, and the 
ringleader of the mutiny was discovered and pun¬ 
ished by being forced to run the “gantelope,” simi¬ 
lar, no doubt, to the gantlet of the American In¬ 
dians. 

With the example set the sailors by the suffering 
of their mate, and the wearing off of the effects of 
the liquor they had drunk, they returned to their 
duties in short order, and peace ruled once more on 
the Grenville. 

Soon after Cook had sufficiently recovered from 
his wound he received fresh orders; he was to leave 

49 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


the ship and explore a number of small rivers flow¬ 
ing out from the Canadian mainland. 

“I’ll take provisions for six days,” he decided, 
“and carry a small boat along with the cutter on 
which I shall sail. In this little boat I can enter 
very small rivulets.” 

Once more, then, he started out on a surveying 
trip. But all was not to go well with him even now. 
As he was passing a rocky point of land on his way 
to St. John’s, New Brunswick, the tiny boat carry¬ 
ing him came near the ledge. Almost on the in¬ 
stant it was destroyed, and Cook and his companions 
were cast into the rough waters. 

Fortunately for them, the cutter was near at hand. 
Nevertheless, anxious moments passed before the 
men were rescued. Once on board, within sight of 
the wrecked boat and with angry waves dashing 
about the cutter, Cook might well thank God that 
his life had been spared. Little did he guess at that 
time that the world had need of the important dis¬ 
coveries the future had in store for him. Honor 
and high reward were, in fact, awaiting him for 
noble services of which he did not dream even in his 
most hopeful moments. 

Not long after the accident which brought him 
near death, he was ordered back to England to give 
a report of what he had accomplished. But even 
now he found valuable work to do as he bade good- 
by to America. 

“I’ll take soundings as I cross the Banks of New- 

50 




Wedding Bells 


foundland,” he promised himself. “Everything pos¬ 
sible must be learned of the waters in this part of 
the world.” 

After carrying out this plan, he ordered the 
Grenville 9 s course pointed towards England where 
he arrived after the usual voyage of many weeks. 

How happy was his fair young bride at sight of 
her brave husband! And how rejoiced he must 
have been entering his cozy home to find a pre¬ 
cious new occupant there! During his absence, in¬ 
deed, he had become the father of a little baby— 
and now for the first time he looked upon its bright 
face and heard its sweet voice. 

Even now he could not spend long idle days with 
his loved ones. He had charts to prepare for the 
Admiralty, showing the soundings he had taken 
across the ocean. The rough maps he had made 
of the coast of Newfoundland, showing its outlets 
and harbors, also had to be copied with great care. 

“Afterwards I trust these will be published for 
general use,” the ambitious master must have hoped 
with pride in his accuracy. 

While he was busy making maps and charts, the 
Grenville was being overhauled for future service 
and more sailors added to her crew. By spring she 
was to be ready for a fresh voyage with Cook in 
command. So the winter passed rapidly till the ice 
melted and the sun began to shine more brightly on 
land and sea. 

Do you remember Captain Palliser who had 

5i 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


shown faith in Cook’s ability in past years? By this 
time he had become Sir Hugh Palliser and been 
made Commodore and Governor of Newfoundland 
and Labrador, to take the place of Captain Graves. 

“I know the story of James Cook,” he thought. 
“He is one of the best marine surveyors in the Brit¬ 
ish service. 

“I look upon him as a friend and as a man to be 
trusted. Consequently I want him to go to New¬ 
foundland with me and help me in my work across 
the ocean by making more charts of the coast of the 
island and also of Labrador.” 

So it came about that James Cook received the 
title of Naval Engineer. Once more he bade good- 
by to his young wife, and dandled his little child 
the last time for months to come. Then out into 
the west he sailed in search of fresh adventure. 

He had an abundance of it when once the Ca¬ 
nadian shores were reached and he went on with 
the surveying he had already begun. Once, while 
anchored in a lonely harbor, he spied two men on 
shore who had been lost for a month in the woods 
and were nearly starved. What a relief the sight 
of the Grenville and its master so close at hand must 
have been to the poor creatures! And how great 
was their delight when they had been brought on 
board the brig and given a square meal after weeks 
of almost vain search for roots and berries to nour¬ 
ish them! The kind-hearted master very likely 
watched them with pleasure as the color returned 

52 




Wedding Bells 


to their faces and strength to their weakened bodies. 

At another time the Grenville ran hard onto the 
rocks just as she was about to enter a harbor. 

“There is only one way to get off,” decided Cook, 
after careful examination. “We must unload the 
brig as fast as possible.” 

The order was given and the sailors set lustily 
to work. Hour after hour without let-up they kept 
at it, till the next day found the boat free at last 
and able to go on her way. She had been damaged 
severely, however, and repairs had to be made be¬ 
fore she could be used once more. 

Three years, altogether, passed by before Cook 
had finished the needed surveying. Each autumn he 
returned to his happy home, but each succeeding 
spring found the sea lover back at his work across 
„ the Atlantic. While his ship was anchored off the 
Newfoundland coast he explored a great deal of the 
country inland, and located lakes and rivers, thus 
gaining valuable knowledge for his homeland. Be¬ 
sides this, the study he had made of astronomy in 
past years was put to good use. This is the way it 
happened: as he was fond of observing the heavens 
as well as the sea, he carried with him on the 
Grenville some telescopes and other instruments that 
would aid him in observing the wonders of the sky. 

The August of 1766 arrived. “It is calculated 
that on the fifth of the month there will be an 
eclipse of the sun when the full moon will shut off its 
light from us for a few seconds,” reflected Cook. 

53 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


“And here I am at Newfoundland, one of the best 
places in the world from which to observe it. I’ll 
have my instruments ready. By using them I may 
learn something not yet known to the Royal Society 
of London.” 

Cook succeeded so well in his observation of the 
eclipse that he wrote an account of what he had 
seen, calling his paper, “An Observation of an 
Eclipse of the Sun at the Island of Newfoundland, 
5th August, 1766, with the Longitude of the Place 
of Observation deduced from it.” In due time this 
account was received by the Royal Society of Lon¬ 
don, whose members forthwith declared: “This 
marine surveyor, James Cook, is a man of unusual 
ability. He shows great and unusual knowledge 
both of mathematics and astronomy. We must not 
lose sight of him.” 

With the coming on of the winter in 1767, Cook 
found himself in England once more, ready to en¬ 
joy the company of his wife and the three little 
children who had come since his marriage. 

There were many now who were proud to claim 
friendship with the man who had begun life on the 
sea as a humble cabin boy and through his own ef¬ 
forts had become the commander of a vessel, a sur¬ 
veyor in the service of the king, and an esteemed 
helper of the Royal Society of London. 

In the meantime he had earned sufficient money 
to make his growing family very comfortable in a 
house which he had bought on Mile End Road in 

54 




Wedding Bells 


London. His parents, be it said, had no need of his 
help. For years his father had had a business of his 
own and lived in a house which he had built himself. 
When word came from time to time of James’s rise 
in fortune and in the esteem of his countrymen, this 
good father doubtless smiled with pride. 

“My sailor son gives me credit,’’ he thought. “It 
is well that his love of the sea made him leave Mr. 
Sanderson in his little shop at Staithes.” 




CHAPTER VII 
The Great Unknown 


T HERE must be a great deal yet to learn,” 
Cook probably said to himself as he pored 
oyer the map of the world that was spread before 
him. 

Yes, there was indeed much to learn, far more 
than he imagined. To be sure, the Pacific Ocean 
had been discovered by the Spaniard, Balboa, two 
hundred years before. Magellan, the Portuguese, 
had followed in Balboa’s steps and sailed through 
the strait that still bears his name, thus finding an 
easier way to enter the great ocean. 

“They met with grievous misfortunes—those 
two.” So Cook may have said to himself when con¬ 
sidering their fate. “Balboa was afterwards be¬ 
headed, Magellan for his part found the strait 
opening into the Pacific a dangerous one, and instead 
of happiness being his portion for many years to 
come, he was murdered in a conflict with the savage 
people of the Philippines.” 

Afterwards, as Cook knew, ship after ship was 
forced from entering the strait by terrific winds and 
storms, so that sailors, who are generally super¬ 
stitious, held back from going on voyages that 

56 


The Great Unknown 


would take them to the Pacific where they felt sure 
of encountering danger. 

In thinking over the experiences of early discov¬ 
eries, Cook’s mind doubtless turned often to that 
daring old Spaniard, Ponce de Leon, whose voyage 
in the Caribbean Sea, two years after Balboa’s sight¬ 
ing the Pacific, brought him to the Isthmus of 
Panama. At his command, his men carried small 
boats across the Isthmus and launched them in the 
Pacific. In one of these Ponce de Leon sailed for 
some distance along the western coast of North 
America. He was, therefore, the first white man to 
ride upon the waters of the great ocean. 

Other Spaniards followed in the wake of Balboa 
and made important discoveries in the Pacific, of 
which Cook was also aware. And now, with the 
map spread before him, he could trace the course of 
their voyages. There, too, he could note what had 
been discovered in late years by Dutch explorers. 

“The Spaniards can no longer lay claim to the 
Pacific,” declared Holland after her sailors had 
reached the shores of Java and brought home tales 
of that island’s riches. 

Then, at last, England caught fire with the desire 
to explore the South Seas. Ship after ship manned 
by English sailors set sail for the East and brought 
back reports of fresh discoveries. 

Yet even in the year 1774 the map which Cook 
examined was far different from the one we have 

57 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


to-day. The western coast of North America was 
outlined as far north as California which appeared 
to be an island. Japanese and Chinese coasts were 
marked but not accurately placed. The Philippine, 
Spice and Ladrone Islands also appeared, but only 
a corner of New Zealand had yet a place on the map. 

“There must be a southern continent,” believed 
many wise heads of the time. But no one had as yet 
been able to locate it. 

Cook must* have longed to join the ranks of the 
Pacific explorers. In fancy he could share the ad¬ 
ventures of the brave Englishman, Sir Francis 
Drake, with whom he could picture himself stand¬ 
ing on the Isthmus of Panama, viewing for the first 
time the vast Pacific. 

Drake’s words at the time had been handed down 
through the centuries. “Almighty God,” he had 
cried, “of Thy goodness give me life and leave to 
sail once more in an English ship upon that ocean.” 

Drake’s prayer, as Cook must have known, had 
been answered and he succeeded in voyaging along 
the western coast of North America up to latitude 
48 degrees. 

What was he searching for, you may wonder. He 
hoped to find a passage through which he might sail 
into the Atlantic. But he failed, as did other Eng¬ 
lishmen after him. He did succeed, however, in 
sailing around the world, which was considered at 
the time a wonderful accomplishment. 

About the time of Cook’s last return from New- 

58 





The Great Unknown 


foundland, Captain Wallis, an Englishman, sailed 
through the Strait of Magellan with great difficulty. 
Altogether, four months passed before his ships 
reached the Pacific side of the Strait. 

Yet Wallis was not idle while his men labored at 
their difficult task: he made a chart of those waters, 
and wrote careful directions to be followed by the 
men who should come after him. He also studied 
the lives of the natives living in the desolate lands 
along the shores. 

Afterwards he discovered the Society Islands, as 
well as Tahiti to which he gave the name of King 
George the Third’s Island. 

Two other Englishmen, Commodore Byron and 
Captain Carteret, also had discovered islands in the 
Pacific, so Cook learned. 

Now we can understand what was before him if 
he should follow in the pathway of other explorers 
in the East. They had been obliged to combat 
unknown waters; they had had to fight that dread 
disease, scurvy, when their crews lived too long on 
salted meats; they had had to keep their ships 
armed, ready for instant action against enemy ships 
from other countries, and often they had been called 
upon to defend themselves with their lives. 

Yet James Cook was without fear of the ills that 
might befall him if he might only have a chance to 
explore unknown parts of the world. He loved his 
wife and children tenderly. But the sea was ever 
calling to him when he was on land. Its voice was 

59 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


strong, insistent. He could not turn a deaf ear to it. 

“Your place is on my breast,” it kept repeating. 

So it came about that when he had been at home 
for a number of months he was quite ready to em¬ 
bark once more in search of adventure. People were 
already talking about a rare event which astrono¬ 
mers were predicting would take place in the 
future. The beautiful planet Venus was to pass 
across the face of the sun in June of the following 
year, 1769. Thereupon, the Royal Society of Lon¬ 
don came to this conclusion: “Since in this passage 
the planet will move in a direct line between the 
sun and the earth, those privileged to observe it may 
be able to gain valuable knowledge of Venus herself 
and of the distance of the sun from the earth. Fur¬ 
thermore, the transit can be observed in no part 
of the world so well as in the South Pacific.” 

Forthwith, the Society petitioned the king to 
grant the fitting out of a ship for carrying certain 
eminent astronomers to one of the islands there. 
They were to observe the transit and learn there¬ 
from all they could. England, so the members of 
the Society believed, should bear the expense of the 
undertaking. 

King George, hoping to gain more laurels for his 
kingdom and added knowledge of the stars, gave 
the desired permission readily, and then the im¬ 
portant point was raised: “Who is best fitted to head 
the expedition?” 


60 




CHAPTER VIII 
Off to the South Seas 


Y OU are to command the expedition to the 
South Seas.” 

When this news was brought to the little house¬ 
hold at Mile End, Old Town, Cook’s delight must 
have been unbounded. He, to have full charge of 
the ship on which noted astronomers were to sail 
for distant and little known waters! And these 
men to be in quest of knowledge for which the whole 
world was eager! It was wonderful, wonderful. 

But how had he, out of all adventuring seamen, 
come to be chosen? 

The Royal Society, as it happened, had at first 
selected a certain Mr. Dalrymple to be commander 
of the ship. 

At that, the head of the Admiralty objected 
strongly. “Mr. Dalrymple is not even a sailor,” he 
declared. “Nor does he belong to the navy. Con¬ 
sequently, it will not be wise to give him command.” 

“Who, then, shall be chosen for the position?” 
the members of the Admiralty asked each other. 

Mr. Stephens, the Secretary of the Admiralty, 
shortly proposed that James Cook should be made 
commander of the expedition. 

61 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


“I know Mr. Cook,” he said. “He has been a 
master in the royal service and has done faithful 
work as naval engineer and surveyor on the coasts 
of Newfoundland and Labrador. He is the fittest 
person I know to have charge of the undertaking. 
Furthermore, Sir Hugh Palliser, Governor of New¬ 
foundland, knows Cook’s past work and will cer¬ 
tainly recommend him.” 

When the Secretary had finished speaking, his 
fellow members nodded their heads. 

“Mr. Stephens’s words are sensible,” they agreed. 
“We will ask Sir Hugh Palliser to tell us what he 
can about James Cook.” 

You can easily guess what Palliser said when he 
was questioned. 

He gave Cook the highest praise for his skill and 
determination and his knowledge of navigation, as 
well as for the uprightness of his character and his 
ability to control sailors wisely. 

Thus it shortly came about that James Cook re¬ 
ceived a most unusual promotion for the master of 
a ship: he was raised to the rank of lieutenant and 
was given command of the coming expedition. 

“You are to select the ship you think best fitted 
for the long and dangerous voyage,” he was told. 

“I must get busy without delay,” he decided as 
soon as he learned what was ahead of him. “Sir 
Hugh Palliser will help me, I am sure, in choosing 
the vessel.” 

This good friend was only too glad to give what 

62 




Off to the South Seas 


aid he could. Accordingly, the two men went to in¬ 
spect certain vessels lying in the harbor, that might 
suit the needed purpose. Among them was a coal¬ 
ing ship which had been built in Whitby and from 
which Cook had sailed years before as cabin boy. It 
bore the name Earl Pembroke. 

“She is a well-built vessel,” agreed Cook and Pal- 
liser, “and is stout enough to withstand the storms 
she may have to encounter.” 

“She must be renamed,” decided her new master 
when the Admiralty had purchased her and given 
her into his hands for fitting out. “Henceforth she 
shall be known as the Endeavor.” 

“As I met with success after starting from 
Whitby, it is a good sign also that my ship was built 
there and first sailed away from that port,” Cook 
thought, as he set about having the Endeavor fitted 
up for the coming undertaking. 

With careful thought, therefore, he had supplies 
of food stored on board, that would last those who 
sailed on the vessel for a year and a half. 

“We must carry plenty of arms too,” deter¬ 
mined Cook. “These may be needed to defend us 
from any attack made by pirate ships.” 

Accordingly, he purchased twelve swivel guns 
and ten carronades, together with ammunition for 
the same. 

Before all was ready for departure, forty-one 
well trained sailors, twelve marines, and nine serv¬ 
ants including a cook had been hired to make the 

63 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


voyage. These, with the officers, a surgeon, a car¬ 
penter, and several tradesmen, made a company of 
eighty-five men altogether. 

Three distinguished scientists accompanied Cook. 
One of these was the astronomer, Charles Green, 
who was deeply interested in the coming eclipse. 
The second was the noted botanist, Joseph Banks. 
He was young and had great wealth and was con¬ 
sequently able to bring servants to attend to his 
wants, two of them white men and two colored. 
Besides these, he had in his special company two 
naturalists and two artists to aid him in his work. 

“After the astronomers in the company have 
made their observations of the Transit of Venus,” 
Mr. Banks promised himself, “my party can make 
discoveries to enrich Natural History. We will 
gather and preserve the strange insects to be found 
in these hot regions we will visit. Then, too, we 
will fish for coral and will gather the seed of plants 
unknown to England. We will search for strange 
animals and preserve in spirits those we succeed in 
killing.” 

The third scientist, Dr. Solander, was already fa¬ 
mous as a naturalist. 

Thus Lieutenant Cook had distinguished men 
in his company to liven the long voyage ahead of 
him and add to his knowledge by interesting con¬ 
versation. 

The month of July, 1768, arrived after busy 

64 




Off to the South Seas 


weeks of preparation by the commander who could 
now say, “All is ready for the start.” 

A last good-by had already been said to the little 
family Cook was leaving behind him when he 
boarded the ship to sail into the great unknown. 

“Will he ever return to us? Will he be able to 
stand out bravely against the tempests he will en¬ 
counter? Will his life be spared by the savages 
whom he will find on the island chosen for observa¬ 
tion of the transit of Venus?” Such must have been 
the questions the commander’s wife asked herself 
as she turned to the care of the little home and the 
children who might never see their brave father 
again. Cook himself was at first too busy with his 
duties on the ship to have time for much thought of 
the loved ones he was leaving behind. 

With the English ensign raised aloft, the En - 
deavor sailed down the Thames, with the watchers 
on shore echoing the question of the fair Eliza¬ 
beth, “Will James Cook return to us?” 

At Plymouth, the ship came to anchor to receive 
arms and provisions that had not as yet been put 
on board. Then out into the ocean the Endeavor 
moved on the twenty-sixth day of August. 

Twenty-six years before or thereabouts, a lively 
lad, moving quickly, had darted hither and thither 
about a coaling ship sailing out of Whitby. He 
strove hard to obey the commands of the mate and 
escape as much as possible the blows freely admim 

65 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


istered in those days. Of course he was for a time 
the butt of the sailors who looked upon him as an 
ignorant landlubber and shouted loud guffaws at his 
mistakes. He had scant food and that the coarsest. 
He was never sure when or how he might get the 
sleep needed by aching eyes and heavy head. His 
one comfort was the sea that stretched about him 
and that he loved with all his might. 

What a difference time makes! Now at the age 
of forty the raw youth had become a man, the 
very sight of whose keen, brilliant eyes made those 
who served him hasten to do his bidding. His chin 
and mouth had grown more determined each year. 
His wide forehead spoke of rare intelligence and 
understanding. He had, it would seem, been born 
to command. 

“Head into the south.” Such was the order he 
gave, as the Endeavor’s sails were set to the wind 
and the ship went on her way. Past France and 
Spain she traveled, drawing ever nearer to Africa. 

The voyage was not to be an easy one. Heavy 
storms shortly arose and the ship was buffeted by 
angry waves and floods of rain fell through a whole 
day and night. 

While the gale lasted there could be little sleep 
for James Cook and his sailors. To the com¬ 
mander’s dismay, a small boat was washed away 
from the Endeavor, leaks were discovered in her 
upper works, and “three or four dozen of our 

66 




Off to the South Seas 

poultry which was worst of all,” so the commander 
wrote in his Journal, “were drowned.” 

“A bad beginning makes a good ending.” So 
the old adage runs. At any rate James Cook was 
not discouraged by the poor start. Nor was he dis¬ 
heartened when a sad accident happened after the 
Endeavor had come to anchor in the harbor of 
Funchal on the Madeira Islands off the coast of 
Africa. 

As it happened, the sailor in charge of the lower¬ 
ing of the anchor must have been careless, because 
next morning it was found to have slipped. There¬ 
fore it had to be lifted up and carried farther out. 
Then it was that the accident occurred. As the 
rope was thrown out the mate got caught in it. In 
the twinkling of an eye he was lifted from his feet 
and carried overboard. Held helpless, he fell into 
the depths below, where he was speedily drowned 
before any one could reach him. 

“This dreadful thing happened because we sailed 
away from England on Friday,” the superstitious 
sailors grumbled. “We can expect only misfortune 
to follow us.” 

Their sensible commander was above such foolish 
notions. Friday was to him as good as any other 
day. Nevertheless, he must have been grieved at 
the unfortunate death of the mate so soon after 
leaving England. 

There was much to divert him, however, during 
his stay at Funchal. The English consul stationed 

67 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


there was very hospitable and entertained him splen¬ 
didly. 

“He is behind the times, though,” the commander 
must have said to himself, after the consul had 
shown his ignorance of many things known in Eng¬ 
land at that time. Sometimes he was even really 
amusing, as when he came on board the Endeavor 
and was treated to shocks from a simple electrical 
machine which Cook had brought with him. He 
had “as many shocks as he cared for, perhaps more,” 
so Mr. Banks wrote afterwards. 

Cook found that the people settled on the island 
were friendly, but ignorant and lazy. If Madeira 
had been Eden before Adam’s fall, one of her gover¬ 
nors once declared, “the people there would never 
have been willing to cover their nakedness with 
clothes.” 

Five busy days were spent at Funchal while Cook 
saw that fresh beef, poultry, water, fruit and wine 
were added to the ship’s stores. He also obtained 
a large supply of onions. 

“If the sailors eat these plentifully,” he thought, 
“they may be saved from having that dread disease, 
scurvy.” 

Right here you shall learn what happened to two 
of the men who refused to eat the fresh beef doled 
out to them. Oddly enough, sailors become so fond 
of salt meat that they come to detest that which is 
unsalted. When those men dared refuse to obey 
their commander’s order, they got what was to be 

68 




Off to the South Seas 


expected in those days of long ago, twelve lashes 
upon their bare backs. Not lightly was the cat-o’- 
nine-tails used, either. Horrible, wasn’t it? Yet 
Cook looked upon the punishment as necessary to the 
life of his men. 

“If this marine and this sailor are not forced to 
do my bidding in the matter,” he thought, “others 
will follow their example. Scurvy will then shortly 
break out because of the constant eating of salt 
meats. Then woe to the crew and to the success of 
the expedition!” 

Before leaving Funchal, Cook, with several com¬ 
panions, visited a convent and met the nuns who were 
eager in questioning their guests about the outside 
world from which they had shut themselves. Such 
silly questions as they asked, evidently believing that 
their guests knew everything. “When will it thun¬ 
der ?” was one of their questions. It was pitiful to 
see their ignorance. 

A monastery was also visited. The monks were 
kindly men, but very poor. There was so little food 
in their larder they could not invite their guests to 
remain for dinner. 

“Come back to-morrow,” they said, “and you 
shall have a roast turkey with us.” 

This could not be, however. The Endeavor would 
be ready for sailing in a few hours. So good-by 
was said to the monks, and the next morning the 
voyagers went on board the ship, ready to continue 
on their way. 


69 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


Still southward sailed the Endeavor, till four days 
after Funchal had been left behind the island of 
Teneriffe came into sight. 

Soon afterwards Cook beheld a strange sight: it 
was that of fishes leaving the sea and flying a short 
distance up into the air. One of them rose so high 
that it actually made its way into a cabin below 
decks. 

“Marvelous indeed are God’s ways that this could 
happen,” the commander must have thought. 

But fresh wonder awaited him soon afterwards 
when he discovered the sea to be aglow with a 
strange soft light. The path of the ship through the 
waters showed itself in a trail of this beautiful light. 

“What causes it?” the watchers on deck asked 
each other, whereupon the order was given: “Cast a 
net overboard. Then we may be able to discover 
the meaning of this phenomenon.” 

The net was thrown out, and lo! it brought up a 
number of creatures belonging to the jellyfish family. 

“Now we understand what no one before us could 
explain,” decided the naturalists on board. “The 
phosphorescent light is given off by these fishes.” 

Every day now was full of interest. Strange birds 
were shot, and hitherto unknown fishes were caught 
in the nets thrown out from the ship. Moreover, 
a young shark was killed and given to the cook to 
prepare for eating. 

“It is delicious,” declared Mr. Banks and Dr. So- 
lander when they had tasted it. 

70 




Off to the South Seas 


The sailors, however, would not touch it. They 
had a notion that their religion forbade it. 

And now each day grew warmer as the Endeavor 
moved farther into the south. The weather was 
perfect. The sky was clear save for a few soft 
clouds. A gentle northeast wind blew steadily, driv¬ 
ing the ship on its course with little need of work 
by the sailors. Life seemed a beautiful dream to the 
men bound on the great adventure. 

But their easy life was not to last long. As they 
drew near the equator, the wind died down and the 
hot sun beat upon the ship so that it was hard to 
breathe with comfort. It was well-nigh impossible 
for the sailors to get sleep in their bunks below deck. 

Slow as the passage was, the equator was reached 
at last. 

“Proper respect must be shown to Father Nep¬ 
tune,” insisted the crew. 

Their commander willingly consented to the cere¬ 
mony that now took place. All were summoned on 
deck, and those who had never crossed the equator 
before were set apart from the rest of the company, 
to undergo a strange ordeal. Cook probably was 
not asked to share in it because of his high position. 
Still others, including Mr. Banks, were excused on 
one condition only: they must agree to go without 
wine for the next four days. 

Now then for the fun! Each victim was blind¬ 
folded and placed in turn in a rough sort of swing 
in which he was lowered into the sea. Once, twice, 

7i 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


thrice, he was ducked. And all the time the com¬ 
pany gathered on deck looked on in great merriment. 
Cook himself was as much amused as the others. He 
afterwards said of what had taken place—that it 
“was performed to about twenty or thirty to the no 
small diversion of the rest.” 




CHAPTER IX 
Exciting Adventures 

W E will surely be as kindly received at Rio de 
Janeiro as we were at Madeira.” So Cook 
believed when the Atlantic had been safely crossed 
and the Endeavor was nearing the beautiful South 
American harbor close to which stood the capital of 
Brazil. 

Nearly two months had passed in the voyage 
from Madeira. 

“How good it will be to step once more on dry 
land and taste fresh food!” thought the adventurers, 
as the picture of future feasts arose in their minds. 

“Undoubtedly,” thought Cook, “we will be re¬ 
ceived with kindness by the people of Rio de 

J * i j 

aneiro. 

But no! to his disappointment the Viceroy met 
him with coldness. 

“Why has this English ship come here?” the sus¬ 
picious Viceroy said to himself. “It cannot be for 
a good purpose. All this talk of being on the way 
to view what these visitors call the transit of Venus 
from an island in the South Seas is nonsense. I sup¬ 
pose from what the silly men say, they expect that 

73 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


the North Star is going to travel to the South Pole. 
Bosh, I say, to this nonsense!” 

You can see from this how ignorant and stupid 
the Viceroy was when he had such ideas. Further¬ 
more, he made the Endeavor’s stay at Rio de Janeiro 
as unpleasant as possible. He would not give per¬ 
mission to any one on board to come ashore except 
Cook, and even he was suffered to go about in the 
city only with an officer who had been chosen to spy 
on his movements. 

“Nevertheless, I must somehow get a fresh supply 
of water for the ship before leaving the place,” de¬ 
cided the commander. “I must also purchase a quan¬ 
tity of fresh beef, fruit, and wine because of the long 
voyage ahead of us.” 

He managed to obtain these after considerable 
difficulty, though the water was very poor and the 
meat dry and high priced. Then, on the fifth of De¬ 
cember, the Endeavor sailed away, and the voyagers 
gladly bade good-by to Rio de Janeiro. But they 
suddenly found themselves in danger when the fort 
in the harbor discharged two shots at the ship. At 
once the Endeavor was halted in her course, while 
Cook sent a messenger ashore to demand why the 
attack had been made. 

“I had received no word from the Viceroy that 
the Endeavor was leaving,” was the answer. Then, 
when the Viceroy was asked to explain, he said he 
had not remembered to send a permit to the fort, 
though he had written one. 

74 




Exciting Adventures 


Two days were wasted before the matter was set¬ 
tled, after which Cook gave the order to sail as di¬ 
rectly as possible down toward bleak Tierra del 
Fuego. It was the seventh of December, and mid¬ 
summer in Brazil; but the days grew colder for the 
company making their way southward. 

Christmas Day arrived. The sailors had looked 
forward to its coming because it meant light work 
and liberal feasting. But there could be no enter¬ 
tainment such as Commander Byrd and his compan¬ 
ions were able to enjoy not long ago in their camp 
near the South Pole. There was no radio by means 
of which they could talk with their friends at home; 
no player piano, victrola, or other musical inventions 
known to-day. But quite likely, the sailors danced 
on the deck and, mayhap, played on rough instru¬ 
ments of their own making, such as canvas stretched 
over a round box for a drum, etc. 

Some of those sailors on the Endeavor drank more 
grog that Christmas Day than was good for them. 
They became so unsteady on their feet that Mr. 
Banks wondered, so he wrote in his journal, what 
would have happened if a violent storm had arisen. 

January, 1769, found the ship still moving safely 
on her way; and on the eleventh, the coast of Tierra 
del Fuego came into sight. 

It was now bitter cold, but Cook found the island 
looking less desolate than he expected. 

“I will not attempt the long and difficult passage 

75 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


through the Strait of Magellan,” decided the com¬ 
mander, as he thought of Captain Wallis who had 
recently spent three months in sailing in constant 
danger through the Strait. 

“No,” he concluded, “I believe that on the whole 
it will be safer for the Endeavor to sail down close 
to the southern shore of Tierra del Fuego and make 
her way through the strait which the Dutchman, 
LeMaire, discovered flowing between it and barren 
little Staten Island. By doing that, LeMaire was 
able to reach the Pacific in safety.” 

Cook guessed truly, however, that great danger 
was in waiting for him even now. He would en¬ 
counter violent winds blowing from the west and 
striving with a deafening roar to hold the ship back 
from her course. Mighty waves, mountain high, 
would dash constantly against the rocky shores on 
either side; and the only sounds of life would be the 
harsh cries of sea birds as they fought their way 
through the air. But the commander was unafraid, 
and his spirit gave the sailors courage to strive their 
hardest to hold the Endeavor against the terrific 
tide that had set in. They strained every nerve and 
muscle to their task manfully and the worst was 
over in three days and a half. Then all on board 
breathed again in comfort. 

Though ever on the watch for danger, Cook had 
been able to make some important observations, the 
first ones ever taken so far south in the Western 
Hemisphere. 


76 





Exciting Adventures 


The two naturalists, Banks and Solander, were 
not idle at this time. 

“If only we could stay for a brief time at Staten 
Island,” they told Cook, “we might be able to col¬ 
lect some interesting specimens.” 

So they were landed with difficulty on the island. 
They were rewarded by being able to collect some 
plants and flowers unknown in Europe. 

Soon afterwards a good harbor came into view 
on the coast of Tierra del Fuego. It was the Bay of 
Success on whose shores Cook hoped to get a supply 
of wood and fresh water. 

When he and a few companions had landed, they 
were met by the black natives who seemed kindly dis¬ 
posed, especially when Cook presented them with 
some bright-colored ribbons and shining beads. 

These dark-skinned people with the hides of ani¬ 
mals over their shoulders and their bodies smeared 
with paint were a strange sight to Cook in this first 
venture of his into southern waters. The savages 
spoke an unknown tongue, but the commander made 
signs of friendship they were able to understand. 
He found that they had well-made bows and arrows 
which they treasured. With these they were able 
to kill the seals and penguins that visited the bleak 
shores. 

How did these people manage to exist in such a 
cold desolate land where even the trees were scanty 
and dwarfed? That question which arose in Cook’s 
mind was answered in part when he found that they 

77 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


had homes (homes, indeed!) built of boughs with a 
covering of grass and leaves. 

The savages, moreover, had somehow learned to 
make fires. Without the warmth thus gained they 
could never have endured the piercing winds and icy 
storms that visited the island. 

During the Endeavor s stay in the harbor a party 
of nine men left the ship to explore the country. 
They managed with difficulty to climb the slopes of 
several hills that were covered with deep under¬ 
brush. Then, all at once, the weather became bitter 
cold and a driving snowstorm arose. Worst of all, 
the weary trampers, benumbed by the cold, were al¬ 
most overpowered by the longing for sleep. Woe 
to them if they should yield to the longing! The 
next day their frozen bodies would have been found 
lying lifeless in that desolate land. 

It so happened that one of the sailors and Mr. 
Banks’s two black servants who were in the party 
dropped behind the others whose loudest calls could 
not reach them. 

Night came on. 

“We cannot find our way back to the shore in the 
darkness,” agreed the forlorn company. “We must 
gather brush for a fire to warm our chilled bodies 
and get through the hours till daylight as well as 
possible.” 

The fire was made and its heat was comforting. 
But the stomachs of the explorers were empty. They 
had not expected to be long away from the ship, and 

78 




Exciting Adventures 


had brought only enough food for the noon lunch. 
So, hungry as bears, they settled themselves around 
the fire. 

Hark! After hours had passed, shouting could 
be heard in the distance. The sailor who had not 
kept up with the others was crying afar off for help. 
He was found and brought to the fire, and its 
warmth revived him. But alas! his two companions, 
the black men, were not so fortunate. Next morn¬ 
ing they were found frozen to death. 

When the party longed for breakfast to fur¬ 
nish strength for the tramp ahead of them the-re was 
nothing to eat, as on the night before. 

“We must have food,” they were quite agreed. 
So they looked about in search of possible prey. It 
was in vain till they caught sight of a vulture within 
shooting distance. The horrible creature was 
brought down and its body divided among the com¬ 
pany. Each one cooked his own small piece, not 
more than three mouthfuls altogether, and had to 
be content with the nourishment it gave him. 

By that time the storm was over, and the hungry, 
weary men were able to make their way back to the 
ship. 

How do you suppose Cook felt when he listened 
to the story of the adventure and of the death of 
two of the party? 

“Those black men lost their lives through drink¬ 
ing too much of the strong liquor that was in their 
keeping,” he decided. “I feel sure of that.” 

79 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


With this thought in his mind, his keen eyes must 
have looked unusually stern, and his lips shut closely 
together. But theirs was a pitiful death, neverthe¬ 
less, and a great loss had befallen Mr. Banks who 
would henceforth have no black servants to attend 
to his wants. 

Though the naturalists had undergone much suf¬ 
fering in the expedition, they had gathered some rare 
flowers. Besides this, they had found a quantity of 
wild celery and cress which they showed with pride. 

“These will help in fighting scurvy in the long 
voyage ahead of us,” thought Cook who was ever 
mindful of the health of his men. 

The twenty-seventh of January was an important 
day, because then the Endeavor left Cape Horn 
wrapped in fog behind her, and sailed into the 
calmer waters of the Pacific. 

“Steer south,” Cook ordered. He was watching 
for possible discoveries. And he had his reward 
when he found no currents to encounter. 

“Ah!” he thought, “currents show that a land is 
not far away. Now then! I do not believe there is 
a vast continent stretching around the South Pole, 
whatever other people suppose about the matter.” 

After this the ship was directed northward. 
Weeks passed, and still she moved so little that life 
was monotonous day after day. Consequently when 
Banks killed an albatross there was considerable ex¬ 
citement on board. 

“Now we can find out how stewed albatross 

80 




Exciting Adventures 


tastes,” his companions said to each other. They 
waited eagerly while the albatross was skinned, 
soaked in salt water, and boiled by the cook till it 
was tender. When it had been served with a tasty 
sauce it was pronounced delicious. 

“Better than fresh pork!” cried those who ate it. 

Soon afterwards another unusual dish was served 
at the captain’s table. It was a large cuttlefish that 
had been seen floating near the ship and caught. 
Such a savory soup was made out of that fish that 
Banks wrote of it in his journal: “Only this I know 
that of it was made one of the best soups I ever ate.” 

Land folks like ourselves can scarcely imagine 
how good those odd dishes tasted to the seafarers 
who had been without fresh meat for many weeks. 

About two months after the voyagers had left 
Cape Horn behind them, a pitiful thing happened. 
It was the suicide of one of the marines who had 
stolen a piece of seal skin from one of the men on 
board and afterwards been found out and railed at 
by the other marines. 

“We will report you to the sergeant,” they told 
him, and continued to heap abuse on him till he 
could bear it no longer and threw himself into the 
sea. 

April had opened when land was sighted. It 
proved to consist of reefs with a lovely lagoon in 
the center. Undoubtedly it had been built up during 
many centuries by coral insects. 

81 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


“There is no place to anchor, so it is useless for 
us to try to land,” decided Cook. 

But he must have been deeply interested at the 
sight of the cocoanut palms and other tropical trees 
growing on the island. Still more so perhaps was he 
interested in the people with black hair and brown 
skins who came paddling out toward the ship, and 
followed it for a while. 

“They don’t seem to want us to land,” the voy¬ 
agers decided as they watched them. 

“I will name this place Lagoon Island,” said the 
commander, as the Endeavor left it behind and 
sailed on past still other lovely lands to which Cook 
also gave names. Some of these had already been 
discovered by the explorer Bougainville. 

The twelfth day of that month of April was one 
to be long remembered. The Endeavor came close 
to a most beautiful place, one of the Society Islands 
of which Captain Wallis had brought back w r ord to 
England shortly before Cook started out on his great 
undertaking. 

King George’s Island, so Wallis had named it, 
though the natives there called it Otaheite, and we 
know it to-day as Tahiti. From Wallis’s descrip¬ 
tion the Royal Society had decided that it would be 
an excellent place from which to observe the transit 
of Venus. 

When the ship came to anchor on the following 
day the hearts of all on board were filled with joy. 
They had been away from England more than eight 

82 




Exciting Adventures 


long months and the thought of staying for a while 
on dry land was very pleasant. 

Almost as soon as the Endeavor appeared in the 
harbor the natives of the island sprang into their 
canoes, and paddled out around the ship when she 
came to a standstill. 

“They are fine-looking fellows, straight as an ar¬ 
row,” agreed the voyagers admiringly. “Their 
bronze skins are really beautiful. And their big 
brown eyes are gentle.” 

“They wish to make friends with us,” decided 
Cook. 

He must have been pleased at the sight of the 
rare fruits they had brought to offer in trade to the 
white men. Among these were cocoanuts, and bread¬ 
fruit which Cook could never have seen before. 
There were also fresh fish, both raw and cooked, 
and a pig. 

The commander, however, would not accept the 
pig. The visitors asked too much pay for it—a 
hatchet. “We haven’t many hatchets on board, so 
I can’t give even one of them for the creature,” 
thought Cook. 

However, he gladly purchased the fruit and fish, 
since the savages were satisfied to receive some glass 
beads in return for them. When the bartering was 
over, a party of the explorers made ready to go on 
shore. There they met with a friendly reception, 
and had a chance to watch the curious ways of the 
people whose words they could not understand. 

83 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


The next day two brown visitors, who seemed to 
be leading men among the natives, visited the ship. 
Cook and his company treated them with respect, 
and invited them down into the cabin where they 
went without the slightest fear. 

Forthwith, a strange ceremony followed. Mr. 
Banks wrote a description of it in his journal: “Each 
singled out his friends,” said the naturalist. “One 
took the captain and the other chose myself. Each 
took off a part of his clothes, and dressed his friend 
with what he took off. In return for this, we pre¬ 
sented them with a hatchet and some beads.” 

“Visit us on shore,” then said the chiefs in sign 
language. 

So it came about that soon afterwards Cook, 
Banks, and a few companions found themselves en¬ 
tering a long hut where they were presented to an 
old chief who was evidently an important man in 
the settlement. Forthwith, he gave Cook a cock, 
and Banks a hen. 

“These two men,” the islanders had probably de¬ 
cided, “are the leaders among our white visitors.” 

After Banks had presented the old savage with 
his lace-trimmed silk neckcloth and a handkerchief, 
the ceremony was over, and the visitors went out 
into the open air, free to look about as much as they 
wished. Everywhere they met kindly faces. More 
than this—the friendly people held out to them 
green branches to show their good will to the visi¬ 
tors and their wish for peace. Then, before the 

84 




Exciting Adventures 


white men returned to the ship, they were bidden to 
a feast prepared in their honor. It consisted mostly 
of fish, and breadfruit whose white pulp had been 
baked. 

Before the feast ended an unpleasant thing hap¬ 
pened : an opera glass and a snuff box had been stolen 
from two of the party. There was a great to-do 
when the theft was discovered. As soon as one of 
the newly made friends among the natives learned 
what had happened he began to strike at his people, 
right and left. He even knocked some of them down 
and drove off the rest. 

“Take these,” he signed to the visitors, holding 
up strips of cloth made by the natives. 

After the white men had made him understand 
they would not accept these nor anything else he 
offered, but wished only to have the stolen opera 
glass and snuff box given back to them, these were 
in due time returned. The natives, so Cook soon 
discovered, were “prodigious expert” in thieving, 
though friendly and good-natured. 

“Since we are to make a long stay on this island,” 
he promptly decided, “we must hold their friend¬ 
ship as well as treat them with justice. On the other 
hand, they must be dealt with firmly.” 

Consequently he made several rules which his own 
men were to obey in all their dealings with the na¬ 
tives. He held his men strictly to these rules and so 
when, later on, one of them threatened to cut the 
throat of a native woman for not being willing to 

85 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


trade a little stone hatchet for the nail he offered, 
the commander ordered the man to be stripped, tied 
to a mast, and severely whipped. He was so wise, 
however, that he waited till one of the chiefs of the 
island, accompanied by some of his people, came on 
board the ship. 

“They shall witness the flogging,” thought Cook. 
“Then they will see that I am as ready to punish any 
of my own men who do wrong as quickly as I would 
one of these savages.” 

The effect of the punishment on the natives must 
have amazed Cook. They began to weep at the first 
lash of the whip on the offender’s back. 

“Spare him,” they begged in their strange tongue. 
They could not bear to see suffering even though it 
was deserved. 

Cook was already making plans for the undertak¬ 
ing which had brought him to the island. 

“We must without delay choose the spot from 
which we are to make observations of the transit,” 
he said to those who were to share his undertaking. 

Hence the second day after his arrival he started 
out with a small party to explore the island and soon 
found what seemed an excellent site. It was on an 
eastern point of land reaching out into the bay and 
not near a settlement of any natives. Forthwith 
Cook called the place Point Venus. 

“We must build a fort here,” he told his com¬ 
panions, “in which we can store the instruments we 
will need in making our observations.” 

86 




Exciting Adventures 

The work was begun as soon as workmen had 
come from the ship, accompanied by some marines 
to guard them and the supplies from harm. And 
now to the task with a will! Tents were put up, 
ditches dug, and banks thrown up, to protect the 
place from possible attack. 

Unfortunately, soon after Cook had gone away 
to explore the island further, sore trouble began. A 
native, who had been watching with some of his 
people, crept up behind the sentinel who stood on 
guard, seized his musket, and fled. 

“Shoot him!” instantly ordered the midshipman 
in command of the marines. But the shot missed its 
mark. The midshipman himself now made after 
him, and his shot succeeded in bringing the man 
down “dead as a doornail.” 

Cook and his fellow explorers off in the woods 
heard the report of the musket. 

“That means trouble!” they thought. The com¬ 
mander hurried back to the camp, greatly disturbed. 

When he learned that one of the natives had been 
killed, he was still more troubled. 

“We may lose the trust of the savages because of 
this,” he said to himself. “I must do all I can to 
restore it.” 

Well might the officer who had sent the fatal shot 
tremble when he came before his chief whose eyes 
must have flashed as he rebuked the man sternly. 
The midshipman was not likely to act a second time 
with such cruel haste. 


87 






A native seized a musket and fled . 















































Exciting Adventures 


In the meantime, all the natives save one had fled 
from the camp grounds, fearing harm to themselves. 
One fellow alone, who had considerable influence 
among his people, had dared to remain. Cook made 
signs to him that he was sorry for what had hap¬ 
pened and wished to be just to all. Peace was conse¬ 
quently made after a fashion; nevertheless, for days 
afterwards the natives would have little to do with 
their visitors. 

Another unfortunate happening soon followed. 
Mr. Buchan, an artist who had come on the expedi¬ 
tion was taken ill with an epileptic fit, and died. 

“What shall be done with his body?” wondered 
Cook. “The savages are full of superstition. They 
might be troubled if we buried our friend in the 
ground, something contrary to their custom.” 

Accordingly, the last services for Mr. Buchan 
were held on board the ship and his body was then 
cast into the ocean. The natives, as Cook knew, 
had treated the body of the man who had stolen the 
musket in a far different manner. After wrapping it 
in a cloth, they had taken it into a stretch of woods. 
There they had set up a rough framework on posts, 
with a roof over it. On this platform they laid the 
body, together with the man’s weapons, some water 
and some fruit. 

“Now,” they seemed to feel, “he is provided with 
all he needs for his journey to the beyond. We can 
do no more.” 

As the days went by, the defenses of the fort were 

89 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


finished, and guns were set up ready to be fired off 
in case of an attack. 

“There is little danger of harm coming to it now,” 
reflected Cook, as he thought of the forty-five men 
whom he had selected to garrison the place. 

Last of all, the instruments needed for the ap¬ 
proaching observation were brought from the ship, 
to be ready for use when the right time for using 
them should arrive. A sentinel took his place to 
guard the treasured articles. 

Lo, next morning a great loss had occurred—al¬ 
most right under the sentinel’s nose, too! The quad¬ 
rant, stored in a tent before which the guard had 
paced back and forth all night long, had been stolen 
and carried off. It was a heavy instrument, and of 
the greatest value because without it the observations 
for which the expedition had left England could not 
take place. Dreadful indeed was the discovery of 
its disappearance! A search for it began at once. 

Green and Banks with a friendly chief, Toubourai 
Tamaide, started out at once, Cook following close 
behind with some marines. They traveled a long 
distance before they came upon a native carrying a 
portion of the missing instrument. 

Now was the moment for speedy action. Banks 
instantly held out his pistol. At the same time he 
drew a circle on the ground. “Now,” he signed 
sternly to the natives who had gathered about him, 
“place inside that circle the parts of the quadrant 
which have been stolen from us.” 


go 




Exciting Adventures 


They did not dare to disobey the command. One 
after another came forward and laid a portion of 
the instrument where Banks had commanded. A 
few small parts were found to be still missing, but 
in course of time these too were recovered. 

Now for a rather amusing story. It seems that 
a certain chief, Taburai, who had become a devoted 
friend of Mr. Banks, sent word to the naturalist that 
he was very ill and wanted much to see him. He 
had been poisoned, so the messenger managed to 
explain, by something given him by one of the 
sailors. 

“What could it have been?” wondered Banks. 

After asking a few questions one of the men 
brought him a package containing some tobacco. 

“Aha!” he thought, “now I understand what is 
the matter with Taburai. After seeing the sailors 
chewing tobacco, he thought it was good to eat, and 
swallowed some of it. I believe the poor creature 
can be cured by drinking a quantity of cocoanut 
milk which will soothe his inflamed stomach.” 

The cocoanut milk was given the sufferer, and in 
a short time he was well and no doubt grateful to 
his white physician. 

The natives acted like loving, happy children in 
most ways. But they had never learned that it was 
wrong to steal. So, whenever they had a chance, 
they took clothing, tools—anything they liked on 
which they could lay their hands. One night, for 

9i 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 

instance, when Cook was sleeping in a native hut, 
his stockings were stolen from him though he had 
been careful to place them under his head before 
closing his eyes! 

Banks had even greater trouble that same night. 
While sleeping in a canoe on the shore when he had 
found it was too late to make his way back to the 
fort, all his clothing except the pants which he had 
on were taken from the boat. So, too, were his 
flask of powder and his pistol. He and Cook must 
have been a funny sight next morning when they met, 
Banks almost naked and Cook barelegged. 

“This thieving must certainly stop!” Cook de¬ 
cided indignantly. 

He accordingly seized a number of natives’ ca¬ 
noes loaded w 7 ith fish, and declared he would hold 
them till everything which had been stolen was re¬ 
turned. He met with scant success. Some of the 
missing goods were brought back though many ar¬ 
ticles were never seen again by the white men. After 
a while the commander returned the boats when he 
found that the fish were spoiling. 

During the weeks spent at Tahiti, the commander 
had to punish some of the sailors for wrongdoing. 
Nevertheless, for the most part the days were filled 
with pleasure for the members of the expedition. To 
begin with, the island was a beautiful dwelling place 
with its feathery palm trees, its blossoming plants, 
and its lovely shores bathed by the blue waters of 
the ocean. The air was soft and soothing. Birds 

92 





Exciting Adventures 


of brilliant plumage flew overhead, singing sweet 
songs. Then, too, the well-shaped, handsome na¬ 
tives were good to look at and graceful in their 
sports, whether bathing in the warm sea or paddling 
about in their canoes. 

“Surely we are blessed in having such a resting 
place.” So Cook must have thought as pictures of 
what he had encountered since leaving the homeland 
arose in his mind. The terrible storms encountered 
in rounding Cape Horn, the bitter cold of the far 
southern waters, the unkindness of the Brazilian gov¬ 
ernor, the ugliness of the dull-witted savages of 
Tierra del Fuego—all these must now have seemed 
unpleasant dreams. 

“If only,” he doubtless said to himself, “my good 
wife and loving children could enjoy the life with 
me here, feasting on delicious fruits and fresh fish!” 

But they were thousands of miles away, and the 
telegraph and radio were yet to be invented. So 
they could only wonder what was happening to the 
dauntless husband and father in the South Seas. 
Months hence they were to hear about the strange 
concerts of the Tahitians when the brown men 
played on handmade flutes by blowing into the holes 
with their nostrils. They would also listen to de¬ 
scriptions of the mimic battles and the dances in 
which the natives took part for the entertainment 
of their guests. 

Each day of their stay on the island, Cook and 
his company were looking forward with ever greater 

93 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 

interest to the forthcoming transit of Venus. Every 
astronomical instrument had been set in place when 
the second of June arrived. Only a few hours would 
now pass before the great event would take place. 

“Will the weather to-morrow suit our purpose?” 
Cook wondered. “Will the sky be free from clouds, 
so that we can see clearly and make observations 
that will add to our country’s fame?” 

That night many wakeful people at the camp 
looked out into the darkness watching for hopeful 
signs in the heavens. They were not disappointed 
when dawn arrived. The eclipse lasted for six hours 
on that day of days for Cook—from nine o’clock 
in the morning till three in the afternoon. These 
were busy hours, but they brought the success the 
commander had hoped for. Important observations 
were made during that time and carefully noted. 

When the great event was over, Cook had no 
thought of idling for a while. “I will sail close 
around the island in one of the boats and learn its 
size and nature,” he decided. 

Without considering the dangers he might en¬ 
counter, he started out with Banks for companion. 
The two men soon found that they needed to be 
very careful because the shore in many places was 
edged with sharp rocks reaching out into the water. 
The boat might therefore easily capsize. Woe to 
the explorers if they were cast into those waters and 
dashed to destruction against the rocks or seized by 

94 





Exciting Adventures 


hungry sharks, ready to feast on their prey. Their 
lives were spared, however, throughout the passage 
during which they stopped from time to time to 
visit various parts of the island and make friends 
with the natives living thereabouts. 

After their return to the ship, Cook prepared in 
earnest to leave beautiful Tahiti. Fresh meat and 
fruits were purchased from the islanders and stored 
on board the Endeavor for future use. When every¬ 
thing was nearly ready for the start two of the ma^ 
rines could not be found! 

The commander learned from the natives that 
they had run away. Yes, and because they had fallen 
in love with two pretty maidens of Tahiti and de¬ 
cided that they wanted to marry them and live with 
them there for the rest of their lives. They had 
fled with the girls into the wilderness, though they 
were bound by the laws of the navy to remain with 
the ship! 

“They must be found and brought back,’’ de¬ 
clared Cook sternly. 

But how could they be reached, was the question. 

The commander promptly thought of a way to 
find his missing men. At his order, several of the 
native chiefs and the wife of one of them were seized 
and imprisoned in the fort. 

“You shall not be set free,” Cook told them, “till 
my marines have been brought back.” 

The captives saw that he meant what he said. 
Moreover, they didn’t enjoy being imprisoned. So 

95 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


it shortly came about that a company of the natives 
were soon on their way to find the runaways who 
were returned in short order to the ship. 

Four days afterwards the Endeavor was ready 
for departure. 

“Let me and my boy servant go with you,” begged 
Tupia, one of the leading men of the island. 

“Tupia has been a faithful friend to me through¬ 
out my stay,” thought the commander as he looked 
into the brown man’s earnest face. “I will let him 
come because he can be of great help to me in talk¬ 
ing with natives elsewhere and make my wishes 
plain to them. Besides, he knows a good deal about 
the waters in these parts.” 

So it came about that the Endeavor sailed away 
with two Tahitians in her company, while the 
natives, who had crowded on shore to watch their 
departure, wept bitterly as their friends moved 
farther and farther away from their homeland. 




CHAPTER X 
Fresh Discoveries 

A FTER spending three months at Tahiti I want 
to explore the other islands in these waters.” 
So Cook thought, on giving orders to head the 
Endeavor toward the large island of Huaheine, not 
far distant. 

As the ship neared the coast, the king of the 
country, Orea, came out in his canoe to meet the 
white visitors. He was very friendly and took a 
liking to the commander at once. 

Now it was that Tupia made himself useful. He 
was able to interpret the words of the king and his 
followers to his white friends, and their words to 
him. 

u Let us change names,” Orea said to Cook as a 
sign of his friendship. “While you’re on my island, 
you shall be Orea, and I will be Cookee.” 

His dignified white guest consented with amuse¬ 
ment. Wherever he went on the island afterwards 
he met only with kindness. He soon found, how¬ 
ever, that the natives were given to thieving, like 
those he had left behind him. 

Four weeks passed pleasantly with visits to other 
near-by islands where Cook hoisted the flag of Eng- 

97 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 

land and took possession for his king. He named 
the group as a whole, the Society Islands. 

Then after getting a supply of fresh fruit and 
other provisions from the natives, he gave the order, 
“Let the ship sail into the south.” It was now the 
month of August. 

For the next four days no new land was sighted 
by the adventurers. Then a small island appeared 
in view. A little boat containing the ever adven¬ 
turous Banks, Gore, and Tupia was sent ashore. 
But they met with a very unpleasant reception there, 
because the natives greeted them w T ith fierce yells, 
and strove to prevent their landing. At that a shot 
was discharged by one of the seamen, striking the 
head of an islander. That, of course, made bad 
matters worse and it would have been foolish to try 
to land. 

The boat was next rowed around the island in 
search of a harbor where the ship could be anchored 
but when none was found, Cook again gave the or¬ 
der, “Sail into the south.” 

What had he in mind, do you suppose? He was 
thinking, “If there is a great southern continent, as 
so many of the people at home believe, I want to be 
the one to discover it.” On sailed the ship day after 
day through unknown waters till the twenty-sixth of 
August arrived, exactly one year since the adven¬ 
turers had left their native land. 

“We will have a celebration,” decided Cook, “in 

98 





Fresh Discoveries 

honor of what we have accomplished so far in 
safety.” 

Forthwith a Cheshire cheese was brought out for 
the feast, together with a cask of beer. It was a 
time of merriment for all on board. 

Still southward, but a little west, sailed the ship 
with no fresh discoveries till at last, on the seventh 
of October, there rang out the cry from the youth 
Nicholas Young, “Land ho!” 

“ ’Tis the great southern continent,” insisted many 
of Cook’s companions as the ship entered a bay on 
the northeast coast. 

“Time will tell,” thought the commander as he 
directed that the Endeavor should anchor at the 
mouth of a river entering the bay. 

A large and fertile island with lofty mountains 
was spread before Cook’s admiring eyes. After¬ 
wards he discovered it to be one of two islands 
which we know to-day as New Zealand. 

More than a hundred years before his coming the 
Dutchman, Tasman, had sighted the west coast of 
this land. But the natives, who seemed very war¬ 
like, had attacked the ship, and Tasman sailed away 
without trying to land. 

“It is a beautiful country,” agreed Cook and his 
companions as they gazed toward the shore. 

“How soft and pleasant the air is!” they ob¬ 
served further. “But the natives here—will they 
be friendly? At any rate we will land and find out 
what kind of reception is waiting for us.” 

99 

» i 

» * » 

> » 


• i j 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


Two boats, a pinnace and a yawl, were shortly 
manned and the men provided with arms. 

“When we land,” Cook decided, “we will show 
ourselves friendly to the natives, but if need be, we 
must defend ourselves.” 

As the company stepped on shore, they beheld a 
group of the natives on the bank of the river oppo¬ 
site them. Curious-looking people were those sav¬ 
ages, with their black hair fastened in knots on the 
tops of their heads, and wearing garments of cloth 
woven out of fiber. We speak of these people to-day 
as Maoris. 

“By the signs they make, I judge that they will 
treat us well,” thought Cook. 

Accordingly, he and several companions were 
rowed over to the place where the men had gathered, 
but to his disappointment, at his approach the natives 
fled toward their huts which were some distance back 
from the shore. 

Leaving the boat in charge of the youths who had 
rowed him over, he hurried after them. But no 
sooner had he left than four natives, carrying spears, 
came stealing down to the shore from some near-by 
woods. They evidently meant to steal the yawl and 
perhaps kill the youths guarding it. 

“Look out for yourselves,” shouted the coxswain 
of the pinnace, who was watching them. At the 
same time he shot off his musket, aiming over the 
heads of the Maoris, because he wished only to scare 
them away. 





Fresh Discoveries 


At that the savages stopped, though not for long. 
Then they headed for the yawl, one of them raising 
his spear to cast it at the occupants. A second shot 
of warning did not check the savages, but a third 
struck the man brandishing a spear and he fell to 
the ground lifeless, after which his companions were 
glad to retire. 

“This is a bad beginning,” thought Cook. 

“But I won’t give up easily,” he soon promised 
himself. 

The next day, therefore, he made another land¬ 
ing. This time three boatloads of sailors and ma¬ 
rines together with Banks and his brother scientists 
as well as the commander and his officers, left the 
ship. Tupia was also in the company. 

“Perhaps he may understand enough of the speech 
of these brown people to make it easy for me to come 
to terms with them,” Cook had said to himself. 

When the white men landed, they noticed at least 
a half hundred natives on the opposite bank of the 
river, awaiting their approach. The savages were 
in no kindly state of mind. They brandished their 
spears and performed what seemed to be a war 
dance, as much as to say to the white men, “Don’t 
dare to come here. We will destroy you if you try 
it. We have only hate for you strangers.” 

But now Tupia showed himself useful. He spoke 
to the Maoris in his own tongue which was similar 
to theirs, saying that his companions wished only 

IOI 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


peace, but at first the natives were too angry to 
listen. Again he tried to explain that the white men 
wanted to trade in friendly fashion, whereupon some 
of the savages became bold enough to approach the 
visitors who now offered them trinkets. But they 
were too warlike to care for these—they coveted the 
white men’s muskets. One of them, in fact, grabbed 
Mr. Green’s sword out of his hand and began to 
flourish it about in the air. 

This was too much for the white men. Seeing 
him still threatening, two of them fired off their 
guns. The second shot killed him, and the other 
natives fled in fright after more shot had landed in 
their midst. 

“We may as well return to the ship,” so Cook told 
his companions. “After this, it will be impossible to 
win the good will of such fierce people.” 

Yet the commander did not give up the thought 
of landing elsewhere on the island. “It is necessary 
to get a supply of fresh water for the ship,” he re¬ 
membered. “The river water is too salty.” 

The next day, therefore, he and a small party set 
out from the ship in two boats, intending to visit 
another place bordering on the bay. The surf 
proved to be very heavy there and the boats could 
not land. And now two canoes could be seen farther 
out in the water, fighting their way to the shore. 
One was under sail, and the other was being paddled. 

^ook began at once to carry out a plan he had 


102 




Fresh Discoveries 


just made. “Chase the canoes,” he commanded his 
men, “and cut off their chance to land. 

“As soon as we reach them,” he explained further, 
“the natives in them are to be seized and carried to 
the Endeavor.” 

He had no thought of being cruel to the brown 
men, however. He planned only to treat them 
kindly while they were in his power so they might 
learn that he wished to be friendly. In the mean¬ 
time, the Maoris in one of the canoes had discov¬ 
ered the white men and made out to sea. The others, 
however, had come quite close before they realized 
their danger. Then, too late, they strove to flee. 

“Shoot at them, but over their heads,” ordered 
Cook, who did not wish to wound them. 

The command was obeyed. But to Cook’s admi¬ 
ration of their courage, the seven Maoris in the 
canoe immediately turned about to defend them¬ 
selves against the Englishmen in the boat that was 
close upon them. They threw stones, they tried to 
strike their assailants with their paddles, they raised 
their spears and stone axes to destroy any white man 
within reach. 

“There is no help for it—we must shoot into their 
midst,” decided Cook. 

The command was given and obeyed. The next 
minute four Maoris fell dead. The others in the 
canoe, who were only boys, leaped into the water 
and made for shore. 

They were finally caught and carried to the En- 

103 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


deavor where Cook directed that they should be well 
treated. There they were kept for two days and 
enjoyed themselves so much they hated to be car¬ 
ried back to their own people. 

“I am very sorry that those four natives were 
killed,” grieved Cook. Though a stern man he was 
kind-hearted, and the shedding of their blood dis¬ 
turbed him greatly. Of them he wrote in his Journal 
that “they did not deserve death.” 

To his officers he said, “We will not stay any 
longer in these parts since we cannot get needed sup¬ 
plies here.” 

So the Endeavor again started out after Cook 
had named the waters where he had anchored, Pov¬ 
erty Bay, and the point of land which had been first 
sighted by Nicholas Young he called, Young Nick’s 
Head. 

“Though the natives have been unfriendly so far,” 
Cook thought, “I want to learn all I can about this 
country before bidding it good-by.” 

Accordingly, the ship after sailing southward a 
short time, changed her course opposite a high bluff 
which Cook named Cape Turnagain. From time 
to time big canoes came scudding out from the shore. 
They were filled with fierce-looking Maoris singing 
war songs and armed as usual. 

“We must win their good will enough to be able 
to trade with them,” decided Cook. 

They were very suspicious, however, and it was 

104 




Fresh Discoveries 


hard to have any satisfactory dealings with them 
because they stole articles from the white men when¬ 
ever they had a chance and sometimes showed them¬ 
selves very tricky. For instance, one day Cook 
noticed a native wearing over his shoulders the skin 
of a strange animal, much like that of a black bear. 

“I’d like to have that,” the commander said to 
himself. 

When the Maoris paddled up alongside the ship, 
therefore, Cook held out a piece of red cloth, offer¬ 
ing to exchange it for the fur. 

“I will give it to you, but not till I have received 
the cloth,” the man answered by signs. 

And then ? Well, when the cloth had been handed 
down to him he placed it with the skin, and paddled 
off as fast as he could go. Cook never again saw 
either of the articles. 

Afterwards, other natives came paddling up to 
the ship’s side. They held up fish for sale. It 
chanced that Tupia’s boy servant, Tayeto, was in a 
boat by the ship’s side, helping to hand up the fish 
to his white friends. Of a sudden he was seized 
and held tightly by one of the savages, and the next 
instant he found himself in a canoe which was hastily 
paddled away from the ship. Quick work was 
needed now if the boy was to be rescued. At Cook’s 
order, shots were fired after the departing natives 
while Tayeto, seizing his chance in the general com¬ 
motion, leaped out of the canoe and swam toward 

105 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


the ship. A boat was instantly lowered, and he was 
rescued. 

“Hereafter, the point of land close by shall be 
called Cape Kidnapper,” declared Cook, “in memory 
of the place where Tayeto was stolen from us.” 




CHAPTER XI 
Cannibals 


AS the ship sailed northward, every day brought 
i\some fresh adventure. Cook, who was “all 
eyes*’ for new sights, had already noted finely built 
canoes on the shores to the southward. Grotesque 
figures that must have required great skill were 
carved on them. The natives wore two pieces of 
clothing, one of these being a sort of loin cloth, and 
the other a cloak wrapped about the shoulders, and 
in most cases trimmed with dogskins. The native 
women had made these out of some fiber similar to 
hemp. Those worn by the chiefs were of finer tex¬ 
ture than the others. 

Short trips to the shore were made by Banks and 
Solander who were ever eager to gather specimens 
of the plants growing in this distant part of the 
world. 

Four-footed animals were found to be scarce 
since only dogs and rats were seen. The dogs, poor 
creatures, were killed and eaten with relish by the 
natives, so the white men discovered. 

One day more than forty canoes came out to the 
ship. The occupants had lobsters to sell, besides 
mussels, conger eels and other fish. Cook was glad 

107 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


enough to trade with the savages who seemed tol¬ 
erably friendly. As the barter went on, one of the 
savages, probably thinking he would not be discov¬ 
ered, seized sheets belonging to Cook’s bed, that 
were on deck being washed. 

“Give them up at once,” he was ordered, but 
he refused. And then he and the rest of his com¬ 
panions made off in haste. The commander was 
never to see those sheets again. 

Not long afterwards he sighted a good place for 
the Endeavor to anchor, close to Whale Island as 
he called the place. 

Not far away, on the mainland, the explorers 
could see a mountain which Cook named Mount 
Edgecombe, in honor of the sergeant who com¬ 
manded the marines. 

“A transit of Mercury is reckoned soon to take 
place,” Cook said to himself. “I ought to be able 
to observe it from this part of the world. The 
knowledge I can gain from .the observation will help 
me to check up my longitude.” 

Accordingly, he gave orders for the Endeavor to 
sail into a near-by bay, on whose shores the natives 
showed they had no liking for white visitors. They 
came out in their canoes to attack them, singing 
fierce war songs and brandishing double-bladed axes. 

After several unpleasant experiences, Cook wrote 
in his Journal that the natives were “sometimes 
trading with us, and at other times Tricking of us.” 

After the bartering ended, the Maoris did not re- 

108 






Cannibals 


turn to land till the marines fired some shots over 
their heads to scare them. 

Cook, having no wish to harm the savages, or¬ 
dered that not one of them should be killed or even 
wounded by his men except in self-defense. 

As it was, he decided to sail elsewhere, and soon 
found a good place to anchor. The people on the 
shores were more friendly than those he had seen 
before. They brought quantities of fish for sale, 
mackerel “as good as ever was eat,” so Cook 
declared, and delicious crayfish which the brown 
women caught by diving down into the waves that 
dashed against the rocks. 

There, too, was an abundance of fresh drinking 
water, a supply of which was much needed for the 
Endeavor. Yes, and wild celery grew abundantly 
on those shores. The explorers feasted on the 
celery as well as on the lobsters, oysters, and fish 
which were easily obtained, and sometimes on sweet 
potatoes which had been raised by the natives. 

Cook made a landing on the coast of what he 
named Mercury Bay, in order to make observations 
of the transit of the little planet, Mercury. Many 
others of his company also spent considerable time 
on shore getting wood and water for the ship. 

After a week’s stay the Endeavor set sail once 
more into the north. The commander was very 
busy now, giving names to the capes and inlets he 
passed, and working on a chart of the country and 
the waters on its borders. He frequently ordered 

109 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


the ship to anchor while he made little excursions on 
land where he learned a good deal about the natives 
who seemed strong and healthy, but tattooed their 
bodies in ugly patterns. The men had short beards 
and wore their hair in knots on the tops of their 
heads, fastening birds’ feathers in the knots. The 
women’s faces were oiled and daubed with bright 
red paint. 

“They are more modest than the women of Ta¬ 
hiti,” decided Cook, at the same time writing of 
them, “they are as coquettish as our most fashion¬ 
able European ladies, and the young girls are as 
playful as unbroken colts.” 

As time passed by, others of the company made 
many trips on shore where some of the Maoris met 
them in friendly fashion, while others seemed al¬ 
ways ready to make war on the strangers who 
needed to be continually on the watch and were 
sometimes obliged to use firearms to save their lives. 

Cook, however, insisted on kindness being shown 
whenever possible, though he often found it so diffi¬ 
cult to hold his men in check that he sometimes had 
to punish offenders severely for harming the natives. 

During some of his visits on land he had the good 
fortune to visit some villages built on the hilltops 
and surrounded by ditches and palisades. 

“Those that are well built make admirable forts,” 
observed the commander. “Any enemies would have 
a hard time in attacking them.” 

In course of time he learned a dreadful thing 

no 




Cannibals 


about the Maoris. They were cannibals! They 
commonly ate the bodies of enemies they killed in 
battle and with evident relish. It was a horrible 
discovery. 

Cook spent more than a month studying the 
northern portion of New Zealand and the chart and 
maps he made at that time were so accurate that 
they are still considered of value. 

As the ship began to round the northern country, 
she ran into one storm after another. The wind 
blew for four days without ceasing. 

“It was a gale such as I hardly was ever in be¬ 
fore,” Cook wrote in his Journal. He added that 
the sea “ran prodigious high.” 

After a hard struggle the Endeavor reached the 
western coast in safety and proceeded southward till 
she approached a sound to which Cook gave the 
name of Queen Charlotte. He landed on its shores 
and climbed a hill from whose summit he made an 
important discovery: the waters he faced entirely 
cut oh the land to the south which he discovered 
soon afterwards was an island—South Island, as 
he came to call it. 

“Ah-h!” he thought, “I know now that I have 
not been sailing for the past months along the coast 
of a great southern continent. Instead, it is one of 
two islands which may yet be of value to my country 
because of the rich soil and fine climate.” 

He accordingly took formal possession of New 
Zealand in the name of his king. The British flag 


iii 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


was raised aloft and a bottle of wine was opened. 
From this the commander and his companions drank 
to the health of His Majesty, King George III. 

Shortly afterwards the adventurers made their 
way through Queen Charlotte Sound, after which 
they sailed tnrough a narrow neck of water which 
they named Cook’s Strait, and out into the ocean 
beyond. 

Next came a voyage around South Island where 
the Endeavor had to fight her way through a forty- 
eight hour storm, with a violent wind blowing 
against her. Her foresail was split by the force of 
the gale, and she lost her main topsail. Days fol¬ 
lowed during which land was lost to view and Cook 
had to confess, “I do not know where we are.” At 
last his anxiety was ended when longed-for land ap¬ 
peared in the distance. As the voyagers drew 
nearer they were cheered by a welcome sight: that 
of a fire burning brightly on the shore. Even now 
danger was close at hand because the ship barely 
escaped striking upon jagged rocks almost hidden 
in the water. 

Cook wrote simply of his deliverance in this wise: 
“It is apparent that we had a very fortunate escape.” 

Every one on board breathed more freely when 
the voyage around South Island came to an end. 

Few people seemed to live there, so the voyagers 
discovered. “This is not strange,” thought Cook, 
“because the country is for the most part barren, 
much of it being rocky and mountainous.” 

112 




Cannibals 


Then he must have thought: “How different it is 
from beautiful North Island with its many grand 
high-coasted bays, much like the fiords of Norway, 
its wooded hill slopes, its fertile fields, and its lovely 
streams running through grassy valleys.” 




CHAPTER XII 
On to Australia 

W E have spent six months on the coast of these 
islands,” reflected Cook. “I have made 
many discoveries and given much new territory to 
my country—many small islands besides the two 
large ones of New Zealand. It is time to make 
plans for our return home.” 

He now asked himself: “Shall we sail eastward 
and round dangerous Cape Horn? Or shall we 
make our way into the west and possibly discover 
more islands in the Pacific? When I have explored 
this great ocean still further the Endeavor can be 
turned southward, sail around the Cape of Good 
Hope, and then up through the Atlantic till we 
reach England.” 

After much thought the commander decided on 
the latter course. So it came to pass that the ad¬ 
venturers bade good-by to Cape Farewell, on the 
New Zealand coast, and the good ship was headed 
toward New Holland, as Australia had been named 
by Dutch explorers who had sighted it some years 
before. 

The weather was good at first; but a gale soon 
arose that drove the ship into the northwest. Then, 


On to Australia 


on the nineteenth day of April, land came into view 
and Cook saw ahead of him a large bay where ships 
could anchor in safety. When the Endeavor had 
sailed into the bay for two miles boats were lowered, 
and Cook, with a large company including Tupia 
and many marines, made for the port on the coast 
where they had seen people moving about. 

As they neared the land all the savages except 
two fled in fright. These two began to brandish 
spears at least two feet long. At the same time, 
with angry looks they spoke to the white men in a 
strange tongue. Their voices were harsh and un¬ 
pleasant. Tupia tried to understand their words, 
but in vain. So also was his attempt to make them 
catch the meaning of what he said to them. 

“They intend to prevent our landing,” decided 
Cook. “But we must show them that we wish to 
be friendly.” 

Accordingly, he offered the savages some nails and 
bright-colored beads, which somewhat softened their 
fierceness, so he began to make signs showing he 
meant only kindness. For a moment they looked 
pleasanter, and made signs to the white men to land. 
Nevertheless, when Cook and his companions drew 
up to the shore and sprang out of the boats, they 
advanced to do them harm. 

“Fire off your guns, but so that the shots strike 
between them,” commanded Cook who wished only 
to scare the savages. 

As soon as they realized what the guns could do 

ii5 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 

they were evidently frightened for the moment, but 
all at once they began to throw stones angrily at 
the white men, one of whom forthwith sent his shot 
into the leg of an old native. Even then he and his 
fellows persisted in throwing stones and casting 
their spears against their visitors. 

“Those spears may have poisoned tips,” sug¬ 
gested Banks. “We had better not run the risk of 
their entering our bodies.” 

Yet Cook again gave the order to fire, and at the 
third volley of shot, the savages fled into the woods. 

The party proceeded to land and began to look 
around them. Seeing some tents made of bark near 
the shore, some of the marines ventured to visit 
them, only to find a few children huddled inside, too 
scared to move even when cloth and trinkets were 
offered them. 

The marines, pitying them, went away, leaving the 
gifts behind them and thinking, “When the grown¬ 
ups return to the huts and see these, they may be¬ 
come friendly to us.” 

On visiting the huts next day, however, the white 
men found their gifts had not been touched, nor was 
there a native in sight anywhere. 

During the days that followed still other visits 
were made to the shore when the black people ap¬ 
peared now and then, only to flee with wild cries 
into the woods. 

While the ship was lying at anchor in the bay, 
Cook explored the country around it with Banks and 

116 





On to Australia 


Solander. They found it a goodly land rich in grassy 
fields and bright-colored flowers. And since the two 
naturalists discovered many interesting plants, the 
commander gave the waters close by the name of 
Botany Bay. 

The explorers were filled with delight at the beau¬ 
tiful things growing in the earth and the richly col¬ 
ored birds that flew overhead, among them being 
brilliant parrokets whose chatter they listened to in 
amazement! Such immense mussels and oysters 
they found embedded in the sand along the water’s 
edge, that provided feasts fit for a king, as the ship’s 
company agreed. 

Whenever Cook caught glimpses of the natives of 
this lovely land he found that they wore no clothing, 
not even loin cloths, and their faces showed little 
intelligence. Rough bark tents were their only 
homes. They planted no fields of grain or vege¬ 
tables. 

“These people know less than even the natives of 
Patagonia,” judged the explorers, as they sailed out 
of Botany Bay on the tenth of May, and voyaged 
northward. 

They soon passed a bay which Cook named Port 
Jackson on whose shores the great city of Sydney 
now stands, and countless vessels anchor in its calm 
waters. 

For more than two weeks the ship sailed on, pass¬ 
ing numerous points of land with small openings 
between. Then a lovely bay appeared into which 

ii 7 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


the Endeavor sailed and came to rest. Ever curious 
as to what he might find, the commander landed with 
Banks and Solander, and discovered a little inlet 
which looked so interesting that they followed it. 

To Cook’s delight, he found a lake at its source, 
around which grew the strangest trees he had ever 
seen. They belonged to the mango family and had 
aerial roots that bent over and down to the ground, 
making a dense thicket which was hard to break 
through. He also caught sight of naked natives, 
of smoke rising from fires built outdoors, and some 
huge birds which the two naturalists decided were 
pelicans. The creatures were so shy that the ex¬ 
plorers could not get near enough to shoot them. 
They did, however, manage to kill a bustard so big 
that it made them a delicious meal after it had been 
cooked. 

Then, too, the little party found oysters in abun¬ 
dance in the muddy banks along the shore, and to 
their joy they discovered that some of these con¬ 
tained valuable pearls. 

After leaving Bustard Bay to which Cook had 
given its name because of the bird that had been 
killed during his stay there, the ship sailed safely 
on her way up the coast till the tenth of June, the 
commander keeping busy, making a chart of the 
country he was passing. Rocks and shoals had be¬ 
gun to appear, and all eyes were on the watch lest 
the Endeavor should founder, perhaps on a reef 
hidden below the surface of the water. Night came 

118 




On to Australia 


on with bright moonlight to show the way. Ten 
o’clock arrived, and soundings were taken. Twenty- 
one fathoms! 

“Surely all will be well if this depth continues,” 
thought the officers. So they went to their own quar¬ 
ters for a restful sleep. 

It was nearly eleven when the man at the lead 
made fresh soundings and found the depth of the 
water was much less than seventeen fathoms. 

There was need for the most watchful care now, 
but before the man had time to make fresh sound¬ 
ings, there was a sudden shock and he heard a fear¬ 
ful sound as though the Endeavor’s hull was being 
torn apart. She had struck on a sunken coral reef 
and was rocking from side to side in desperate 
fashion! 

On the instant Cook had reached the deck and 
was standing, calm and cool as ever, with his horror- 
stricken crew about him. Realizing that delay 
would mean destruction, he proceeded to give order 
after order without the slightest apparent fear. Al¬ 
ready the moonlight showed that some of the sheath¬ 
ing and a part of the ship’s keel had been detached 
and were drifting about in the water close by. At 
any moment the sea was likely to rush into the hold 
and sink the vessel. 

The commander saw that she must be lightened at 
once, else every life on board would be lost. So, 
while the pumps were set to work to draw out the 
water rushing in below, everything not absolutely 

119 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


necessary was cast overboard. The heavy guns had 
to go; much of the stone and iron ballast and the 
oldest provisions followed. As the men worked, 
they spoke never a word; all their energy was di¬ 
rected to saving the ship. No doubt thoughts of 
the homeland thousands of miles away kept up their 
strength. 

All night they worked at the pumps, while water 
still kept pouring into the hold. Morning came and 
land was sighted in the distance, but the ship was 
not yet free. The workers became discouraged. 
Some of them fainted from the difficult labor. 

‘‘Lighten the ship still further,” Cook ordered. 

Every one on board was joyful when this had 
been done and the Endeavor floated free once more. 
But the danger was still great because the water 
continued to pour into the hold, and pumping could 
not stop for a moment. 

One of the officers now had a bright idea. 
“Wedge a sail into the leak,” he proposed. “That 
will help to keep out the water.” 

This proved to be successful. The ship was soon 
making headway though stormy weather was 
against her and the men were still kept busy at the 
pumps. 

At last, to the relief of all, a harbor was reached 
and the Endeavor was brought to rest in shallow 
water close to shore. She was promptly examined 
as to needed repairs, whereupon a fragment of rock 
was found fastened in the largest hole. 

120 




On to Australia 


“If it had not been for this,” Cook thought grate¬ 
fully, “my ship would have been instantly destroyed 
when she struck upon that reef, and all of us on 
board would have gone down to a watery grave.” 




CHAPTER XIII 


Danger Ahead 

\ \ 7HILE the repairing went on, the commander 
Vi was busy much of the time making a chart 
of the coast. He also joined some of the parties 
who went about exploring the country. They found 
much that filled them with delight, especially since 
the whole company were in need of fresh food. To 
begin with, they killed some pigeons which were 
forthwith cooked for the sick men, Green and Tupia, 
both of whom had been stricken with that dread 
disease, scurvy. 

They also secured turtles in abundance on the 
banks along the shore, wild cabbages, and plums 
that were a great delicacy to those explorers who 
had scarcely tasted fruit for more than a year. 

In their wanderings they met strange animals 
that filled them with wonder. Among these was an 
enormous bat, which scared the sailor who dis¬ 
covered it creeping along through the grass. 

“It must be the devil himself,” the superstitious 
fellow said to himself. 

The most marvelous creatures of all came leaping 
over the ground in a laugh-provoking fashion. They 
had short forelegs and long hind legs; their heads 

122 


Danger Ahead 


were small; their tails, resembling those of rats, 
were very long. Homely creatures? Yes, but when 
killed and cooked, they proved most delicious to the 
taste. You can easily guess the name by which the 
natives called them and by which they are known 
to this day—kangaroos. 

At first, no natives could be seen. But after a 
few days some of them came out of the woods back 
of the shore and then went into hiding again, only 
to appear later with still other savages. When they 
became brave enough to come close to the white 
men, Cook invited them to board the ship. Show¬ 
ing no fear, some of them paddled out in a canoe 
and went on board. 

Now you must hear what happened when they 
caught sight of some huge turtles on the deck, which 
had been caught out in deep water. Seizing these, 
they tried to make off with them. But without suc¬ 
cess ! Before they could spring over the ship’s side 
into their canoe some sailors, after a lively struggle, 
made them loose their hold of the turtles. 

“Now for revenge!” thought the savages. Leap¬ 
ing into their little boat, they paddled to the shore 
where they speedily set fire to the grass which 
happened to be so dry that the flames spread rapidly. 

Bad indeed was this for the white men, because 
two tents which they had set up stood directly in the 
path of the fire. One of these tents held supplies of 
food and other necessities which had been brought 
from the ship for storage while she was being re- 

123 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


paired. The second one contained the sick men, 
Green and Tupia. 

Cook and some companions who had followed 
close upon the canoe had an exciting time before 
they managed to put out the fire in the neighborhood 
of the tents which they managed to save from de¬ 
struction by their prompt action. Then the con¬ 
flagration advanced toward the barren mountains 
beyond the woods. Altogether, the savages gained 
nothing from their attempt at revenge. 

On the fourth of August the Endeavor, once more 
in good condition, sailed northward. But perils still 
dogged her path. Sand banks blocked her way more 
than once. And when her course was turned to 
avoid these, jagged reefs below the surface of the 
water threatened to cause sudden shipwreck. 

“After all, it may be safer for us to turn about 
and sail southward,” thought Cook. 

“But if we do that,” he considered, “I must give 
up finding out whether New Guinea is a part of the 
land along which we have been coasting.” 

He decided, therefore, to keep a general northerly 
course near the shore, but the danger in doing this 
soon became so great that he felt obliged to head 
somewhat into the west where the waters were more 
open. 

The middle of August arrived. It found the 
adventurers cheerful, expecting that all would hence¬ 
forth be well. Then the wind suddenly died down, 
and an ominous sound could be heard. Heavy 

124 




Danger Ahead 


breakers were striking not a mile away against a 
reef. 

“The water is too deep for us to anchor here,” 
Cook explained to his men after soundings had been 
taken. “And in this calm the ship cannot be steered 
out of the danger facing us. We are drifting fast 
toward destruction.” 

He afterwards wrote in his Journal: “The same 
sea that washed the side of the ship rose in a breaker 
prodigiously high the very next time it did rise, so 
that between us and destruction was only a dismal 
valley the breadth of one wave, and even now 
ground could be felt with 120 fathom.” 

Can you imagine the horror of those moments? 
Can you in fancy watch the waves, mountain high, 
breaking over the ship with a sound like thunder; 
the reef nearer every moment, threatening speedy 
destruction to the helpless ship and all on board? 

“We are lost,” felt that brave company. Cook 
alone remained clear-headed and steady of nerve. 
He had already ordered boats to be lowered. 

The oarsmen had received their orders. They 
must use all their strength to tow the ship in the 
opposite direction from the reef. For the next six 
hours those men worked bravely at their perilous 
post, but with scant success. 

“Our last moment is close at hand,” thought the 
watchers. But just as hope had fled, a light breeze 
arose. It gave the ship a chance to struggle toward 
safety. 


125 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


Soon, alas, the breeze died down and the drifting 
began once more. But it was not for long, because 
a second breeze arose stronger and steadier than 
the first. 

Now came a few moments of joyous relief for the 
explorers, while the ship’s sails, filled to the wind, 
carried her safely along till Cook sighted a narrow 
channel parting the reef in two. It was soon found 
too dangerous for the Endeavor to attempt passing 
through. Soon afterwards a second channel ap¬ 
peared, wider than the first but still dangerous. 
Through that the ship was carried along with the 
help of the strong current and the towing of the 
boats. Safety came at last after hours fraught with 
frightful danger. But even now Cook did not dare 
relax his watch, while at the same time he was mak¬ 
ing plans for the future. 

“One of the boats must go ahead of the ship so 
long as we continue in these treacherous waters,” 
he decided, “to warn us when we are entering a 
shallow stretch.” 

With this safeguard, the Endeavor went cau¬ 
tiously on her way throughout the next two days, and 
the northern end of what is now known as Australia, 
was then reached without further accident, where¬ 
upon Cook found that New Guinea was separated 
from it and not a part of it, as had been supposed. 

In his way along the Australian coast, Cook made 
only a few stops. From these he concluded that the 
soil of the country was rich; that many grains and 

126 




Danger Ahead 


fruits raised in Europe could grow there easily, and 
that cattle would thrive on the rich grass that was 
so plentiful. 

“I feel sure that no white man before me visited 
the eastern part of this vast land,” he thought. 
“Hence I have the right to claim it for England.” 

And so, before leaving the country, he took pos¬ 
session of it in the name of his king. At this time 
he gave it the name of New Wales, not realizing, 
however, its size and that it was later on to rank as 
one of the six continents of the earth. It was late 
August when they left what we know to-day as 
Australia and the Endeavor headed toward New 
Guinea. 

Though the distance was short, the sail was 
dangerous because of shallow water and sunken 
reefs, but after nine days the island was reached 
in safety. Some of the company went on shore 
where they met naked savages armed with spears. 
Making fierce cries at their approach, they threw 
curious sticks against the newcomers, from which 
fires flashed as they flew through the air. 

“How are those sticks made?” wondered Cook. 
“There is no sound when the fire flashes, as there 
would be in an explosion of gunpowder.” 

But he never succeeded in having his question 
answered and no one afterwards learned the secret. 
Even as the commander wondered, the savages 
began to fling spears at the visitors who replied by 
shooting off their guns. 


127 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


“We can gain nothing by remaining here,” Cook 
decided shortly. He therefore returned to the 
water’s edge with his companions, intending to row 
back to the ship at once. By that time many of the 
nati'ves had gathered close by, and as the white men 
entered the boats, they cast more of their curious 
fire sticks after them. 



CHAPTER XIV 

The Glorious Welcome 

W E must head for Java,” Cook ordered, as 
the Endeavor set sail into the west. 

His plan was this: At Batavia, the principal city 
of the Dutch in the East Indies, he would buy fresh 
provisions for the ship. He would also have her 
overhauled for the voyage home, because she was 
much battered and had leaks that made it dangerous 
for her to sail a long distance. 

On the way to Batavia the travelers sighted the 
little island of Savu where tropical fruits were grow¬ 
ing in abundance. 

“We will stop here,” Cook decided at once. “I 
hope to be able to buy some provisions from the 
Dutch governor of the place.” 

We can easily fancy the pleasure of the explorers 
when they had landed and were able to feast on 
juicy oranges, tamarinds, and cocoanuts, and drink 
refreshing lemonade. Cook induced the governor to 
sell him some buffaloes and fowls for the ship’s 
stores, though he had to haggle a good deal over 
the price. 

After a short stay at Savu, the adventurers sailed 

129 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


on to reach Batavia on the tenth of October, and 
the needed repairs on the ship began in earnest. 

It seemed good at first to the voyagers to live on 
dry land for a while. But, unfortunately, the town 
was unhealthy because of bad drainage. One after 
another of the company fell ill with malaria, dysen¬ 
tery or scurvy. They did not wonder that the people 
living in the place looked pale and sickly, especially 
when so many of them chewed betel which had been 
obtained from nuts growing on the island, and was 
most unwholesome. 

They met all sorts of people at Batavia. Some 
had come from China; some were Malays; still 
others were Negro slaves. Up to this time Cook 
could well have felt proud of the good health of his 
company. Little scurvy or any other disease had 
attacked them throughout the voyage because of his 
careful thought of the men’s needs. He had in¬ 
sisted, first of all, on cleanliness, and he had pro¬ 
vided fresh food whenever possible. 

But now, he too felt ill from breathing the deadly 
air, and after a while only ten out of his whole com¬ 
pany were free from sickness. 

Tupia’s little servant, Tayeto, had at first been 
so happy and filled with wonder at the strange sights 
of the big town that he had gone dancing through 
the streets. But he soon sickened and died. So did 
his master Tupia. Altogether, thirty of that brave 
company met death either at Batavia, or afterwards 

130 




The Glorious Welcome 


when the ship had been fully repaired, and started 
on her way to South Africa. 

Cook himself had soon regained his health. But 
his heart was heavy at his loss, not only of nine 
sailors, but of the corporal of the marines, the 
draughtsman Parkinson, the astronomer Green, two 
quartermasters, the carpenter, the cook and his mate, 
and many others. 

“If I live,” vowed the commander, “on whatever 
voyages I may afterwards sail, I will use every 
means possible to fight the loathsome* scurvy.” 

The middle of March brought the Endeavor still 
with sick men on board, to the Cape of Good Hope, 
the southernmost point of Africa. The adventurers 
saw before them a bleak, desolate-looking country. 
Yet Cape Town proved to be a healthy town be¬ 
cause the Dutch people settled there kept it clean. 

“It is a good place in which to stay till my sick 
people get well,” thought Cook. 

Consequently the ship lay at anchor there a full 
month, though many of the men must have been 
longing to reach the homeland as soon as possible. 

Only one more stop—a short one—was made 
before England was reached in safety. This was at 
the tiny island of St. Helena, owned by the British. 
Cook was ashamed of the way his countrymen there 
behaved toward their black slaves. “They are more 
cruel,” he thought, “than the Dutch at Batavia and 
Cape Town toward their slaves.” 

The twelfth day of June, 1771, was a joyous one 



The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


to those on board the Endeavor when she came to 
anchor in The Downs, close to the city of Dover on 
the English coast. 

Such a royal welcome followed! Every one in 
the country was thrilled over the return of the great¬ 
est seafaring man of the times. James Cook, once 
the ill-treated worker in a little shop at Staithes, 
was now hailed as a great discoverer who had sailed 
around the world and had spent nearly three years 
making a voyage fraught with danger. 

Stories spread fast of the marvelous things he 
had accomplished. “He had given to his country,” 
so Sir Walter Besant wrote long afterwards, “Aus¬ 
tralia and New Zealand—nothing less; he had given 
to Great Britain Greater Britain.” 

Greater Britain—yes, that was what it had be¬ 
come through the discoveries of James Cook. Rich 
lands never before seen by white men had been 
visited and explored by the man who had made his 
way in the world through his own determination and 
persistence—a hero in every sense because he had 
proved himself just and human toward all who 
served him. 

In those long wanderings he must often have 
thought of the dear ones in the little home in 
London. And when he returned there you may well 
believe that great joy was his in the presence of his 
fair wife Elizabeth, and the three young sons who 
had grown so much in his absence. But sorrow too 
was awaiting the tender-hearted father: his only 

132 





The Glorious Welcome 


daughter, four-year-old Elizabeth, had lately died. 
He also found that a baby boy born just before he 
had sailed away had lived only a brief time. 

How proud and happy was this dear wife at the 
fame her husband had won! The years of absence 
must have seemed like a dream beside the glorious 
present. The newspapers published glowing ac¬ 
counts of what he had done. His Royal Highness, 
King George III, gave him audience. The Lords 
of the Admiralty congratulated him on his achieve¬ 
ments. He was the most talked-of man in England, 
so it was said. Countless honors were paid him, 
not only because he had gained for his country rich 
new possessions but because of the priceless charts 
he had made of strange lands and waters, and the 
knowledge of natural history and astronomy he and 
the scientists of his company had gained. 

Furthermore he was formally given this rank: 
Commander in the Royal Navy. He would have 
been better pleased at that of Post-Captain, but he 
had to be content with this title which was the high¬ 
est that could be bestowed on him at the time. 
Everywhere he went people eyed him with wonder. 
Only to think of the people of other races he had 
looked upon, cannibals among them! Of the re¬ 
markable plants and trees and animals he had dis¬ 
covered! Of the fearful shipwrecks on coral reefs 
from which he had narrowly escaped! Of the bitter 
cold and burning heat he had experienced! Of the 
beauty he had feasted upon in the South Seas! Of 

133 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


the riches that would be England’s through his ex¬ 
plorations! What curiosities had met his eyes! 
Among them all, none could have been more inter¬ 
esting than that odd creature, the kangaroo, which 
he said was the name given it by the natives of the 
country where he found it. 

His little sons listened in wonder to the tales he 
told of his wanderings. “There is no one in the 
world like our brave father,’’ they fondly believed. 

So, too, felt their old grandfather, James Cook, 
who was almost bursting with pride when his noble¬ 
looking son came to visit him dressed in his new 
uniform. It was a pity, thought the old man, that 
his good wife who had died several years before 
was not there to rejoice with him. 

The old friends of Cook’s childhood and youth 
were equally proud. They could say, “I knew Com¬ 
mander Cook when he was a poor boy.” 

But no one, so the story goes, felt greater pride 
in him than the Walker Brothers’ old housekeeper 
who had made it possible for the sailor lad, James, 
to study during winter evenings on shore when he 
was back from a voyage on the collier. 

“He is coming to see you,” the old dame was told, 
“in the midst of all his glory.” 

Her friends warned her that she must be sure to 
call him Commander Cook when he appeared. “It 
would never do,” they told her, “to address him now 
as James." 

“It will be easy enough to remember that,” she 

i34 




The Glorious Welcome 


promised. But when her eyes fell upon him only one 
thought—that of old days—filled her mind. 

“Eh, honey James,” she cried, “how glad a’s to 
see thee.” And with that she began to cry, and took 
the tall, dignified man in her withered arms. 




CHAPTER XV 
Close Unto Death 


C OOK remained at home for the next year. At 
first he was very busy going over his journals 
and log books, and putting them in order. He had 
further to examine the charts and drawings he had 
made on the last voyage to see that they were in 
perfect condition to present to the Lords of the 
Admiralty. 

He also wrote a valuable paper for the Royal 
Society about the tides in the South Pacific, and 
when this was published he must have felt rewarded 
for his labor. 

While attending to these important matters, do 
you imagine that he had no thought of voyages and 
fresh discoveries to come? Far from it. The sea 
was calling to him just as insistently as in those days 
of his youth in the little fishing village of Staithes. 

So it came to pass that he was soon filled with the 
longing to undertake another dangerous voyage. 
He had been hearing a good deal about the possible 
discovery of a great southern continent whose rivers, 
some of the people of that day dreamed, held rich 
deposits of gold and silver and precious stones. 
Still others imagined that in that undiscovered land 

136 


Close Unto Death 


human beings lived who were remarkably wise, per¬ 
haps more so than any others on earth. 

“If an Englishman is the first to find and claim 
that continent,” declared the dreamers, “our country 
will lead all others in the world.” 

The head of the Admiralty, Lord Sandwich, 
listened to such talk with interest. “If there is such 
a continent,” he thought, “it would be a shame if 
England could not claim it as her own.” 

Cook, eager for fresh adventure, naturally wished 
that he might be given command of an expedition 
sent out to search for the longed-for possession. 
And when Lord Sandwich proposed it and appointed 
him to lead it, he was delighted beyond measure. 
He set to work at once to make preparations for 
the expedition on which two ships were to sail. 

“They must be strong, like the Endeavor that has 
served me so well,” he decided. 

Naturally, he went to the shipyard at Whitby 
where the Endeavor had been built, to make his 
choice. The Resolution proved to be the best fitted 
for his purpose. This was to be his headquarters 
on the voyage, while the Adventure y considerably 
smaller, was to be given into the charge of Captain 
Tobias Furneaux, a distinguished officer in the navy. 

And now came the fitting out of the two vessels, 
which required much thought since the voyage was 
likely to last two years or more. 

“I must select not only the machines, but the food 

i37 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


supplies with greatest care,” mused Cook, as he 
thought of the men who had sailed with him before, 
never to return to England because of the dread ill¬ 
ness, scurvy, which had fastened its fangs upon them. 

Accordingly, he purchased among other things a 
supply of wheat instead of oatmeal, sugar instead of 
oil, sauerkraut and salted cabbage, carrot marma¬ 
lade and a preparation of wort and beer which he 
thought would be specially good in preventing 
scurvy. 

Very important, too, was his selection of the men 
who were to go with him on the expedition. Much 
as they had suffered before, some of the officers and 
sailors who had been on the first voyage were glad 
to accompany for a second time the leader whom 
they had learned to love and admire. Among the 
ones who did not join the company now was the 
naturalist, Mr. Banks, who had proved himself 
throughout the voyage ever eager for discoveries. 
Mr. Forster, another noted naturalist, took his 
place and his son George accompanied him as his 
assistant. 

Before starting out on this voyage, Cook had 
heard about the one made by the Frenchman Bouvet 
into far southern waters where he believed he had 
come in sight of the mysterious continent 54 0 south 
of the equator. Because of the Frenchman’s report, 
Cook was directed to follow his course as much as 
possible. 

“And if you do not find land where Bouvet be- 

138 




Close Unto Death 


lieved he sighted it,” Cook was told, “go farther 
south still.” 

With these instructions well in mind, Cook and 
his companions left England July 13, 1772. 

The commander’s parting with his wife had not 
been an easy one. “Shall I return in safety to her 
and our precious children?” he must have asked 
himself. 

And the still young wife—what must have been 
in her mind as she looked into the face of her hus¬ 
band? “Though God has brought him safely back 
to me before,” she thought, “will he be spared again 
in the face of the dangers he will surely encounter? 
I pray that this may be so.” 

The two vessels sailed almost directly south till 
they came to Madeira. There they stopped to add 
wine and fruit to the stores, and also a supply of 
fresh water. 

The next stop was at one of the Cape Verde 
Islands to get more water. Then still southward 
went the explorers with no exciting experiences till 
they reached the Cape of Good Hope. The Dutch 
Governor there received them kindly and seemed 
interested in their hopes of discovering the great 
southern continent. 

“Eight months ago,” he told Cook, “the Captain 
of two French ships sailing from the Island of 
Mauritius sighted a hitherto undiscovered stretch of 
country 48° south latitude in a direct line from 
Mauritius. A violent gale arose and they were car- 

139 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


ried out to sea before they could explore the land.” 

The governor said furthermore that other French 
ships were now in search of the same continent. 

“I must lose no time in getting under way,” 
thought Cook. “The French must not be ahead of 
me in making a discovery of such value.” 

Consequently, as soon as needed supplies had been 
obtained and the two ships had been put in first class 
condition, the sail was continued. Day after day, 
week after week, the vessels pushed on, with the 
weather becoming more and more severe, and when 
the waters of the Antarctic were neared the sailors 
had need of all the heavy clothing the commander 
had brought for them. Dressed in warm garments 
from tip to toe, they could manage to keep off Jack 
Frost’s attacks on hands and feet as they climbed 
the ice-coated rigging. The ships were soon forced 
to fight their way almost inch by inch against terrific 
winds. Waves, mountain high, came dashing 
against them with a noise like thunder. Again and 
again the waves swept over the decks and even 
entered the cabins. And again and again the vessels 
were lifted high above the raging waters to drop 
back almost sidewise with a mighty crash. 

The sailors, who had to work with might and 
main for hours fraught with constant danger, lost 
their courage. 

Seeing this, Cook gave the order that the men 
should be given enough strong drink to keep their 
bodies warm and their spirits undaunted. 

140 





Close Unto Death 


Floating ice had already begun to appear in the 
waters. And soon came a sight to chill the hearts 
of the bravest of the company: huge icebergs loomed 
ahead of them. One of these, hidden at first from 
view because of dense fog and heavy falling snow, 
reached mountain-high toward the heavens. When 
first seen, it was less than a mile away. Every sailor 
on board had to work his hardest to keep the ship 
from approaching nearer. 

Ah! An odd sound could be heard, like the sigh 
of a giant. The voyagers quickly discovered whence 
it came—it was the blowing of a whale that had 
come up to the surface of the water. Other whales 
were soon sighted. These desolate waters were 
evidently their playground. 

Every instant there was need for the greatest 
care and watchfulness as the ships made their way 
in and out among numerous huge icebergs. On and 
still on Cook ordered the Resolution to proceed till 
she was almost surrounded by fields of floating ice, 
where the cakes were often jagged and overlapped 
each other, and where now and then, a hill of ice 
stood up above the rest. 

There was life on the floes where creatures un¬ 
like any the explorers had ever seen before made 
sad cries as thy strutted or ran about on the ice. 
They were penguins who furnished a most amusing 
spectacle when they stood erect and turned their 
solemn eyes toward the strange human beings who 
watched them from the decks of the vessels. 

141 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


Birds were sometimes seen also, many of them 
being blue petrels. 

It was still summer in the Antarctic when, on the 
fourteenth day of November, the voyagers found 
themselves near an immense ice floe. It stretched 
north and south farther than the eye could see. 

“It may be,” thought Cook, “that this floe shuts 
off the undiscovered continent I am seeking. I will 
coast along its edge. Perhaps I will find some open¬ 
ing through which our ships can sail farther south 
and reach land.” 

With this in mind, he gave orders to continue the 
search which was carried on week after week. 

The commander kept busy, as well as his men. 
He took care that the sailors’ clothing gave them all 
possible protection from the cold. He had them 
lengthen the sleeves of their vests with warm flannel; 
he gave them close-fitting caps; he looked after their 
food. 

“Scurvy must get no foothold on mv ship,” he 
promised himself. 

All the time he was on the watch for the wished- 
for opening in the ice, and repeatedly sent out boats 
to help in the search. 

In the meantime he made many calculations in 
regard to the longitude in which the ship was sailing, 
and experimented in preparing medicinal drinks for 
the men, that should keep them in good health. 

Fogs and dampness made the cold very cutting. 
The sailors suffered and longed for the sunshine of 

142 




Close Unto Death 


the north, as they attended to their duties with ach¬ 
ing and sometimes bleeding hands. 

Christmas, so beautiful in the homeland, came on. 
Away up in England Cook could picture his young 
sons enjoying the holiday with shouts and merry 
laughter. No doubt Elizabeth was thinking much 
about her absent husband in the frozen south. But 
he had no time to grieve at the lack of her company. 
With ice packs closing more and more closely about 
the ship, and with only fast freezing waters in sight, 
he must needs be cheerful if he would keep up the 
spirits of his companions. An extra good dinner was 
therefore served on the holiday, and toasts were 
drunk to the success of the undertaking on which 
the commander’s heart was set. 

The new year of 1773 appeared, and still the 
Resolution and Adventure voyaged about together 
in the Antarctic, searching for land. 

January passed, and the first week of February 
found them still in those freezing waters. Then, 
on the eighth day of that month, Cook signaled 
through the dense fog to the Adventure which till 
then had kept near her sister ship. 

It was in vain,—there came no answer. Two 
days passed and there was no reply to repeated sig¬ 
nals. “Perhaps the Adventure has gotten out of her 
course through some mistake,” considered Cook. 
“I hope to get in touch with her yet.” 

Accordingly, he ordered the guns of the Resolu¬ 
tion to be fired once more, and each night flares were 

143 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


lighted on board. Yet still, to his disappointment, 
there was no answering signal. 

“Much as I wish the two ships could continue on 
the voyage together,” Cook deliberated, “it is 
not safe for the Resolution to wait longer for the 
Adventure to join us. Indeed, I dare not delay 
longer in leaving these waters where the danger is 
increasing every day. Consequently, though I have 
failed so far in my search for a southern continent, 
the Resolution must set sail at once for Queen Char¬ 
lotte Sound on the New Zealand coast. Further¬ 
more, there is really no need to worry over the ships 
being separated for a while, because of Captain Fur- 
neaux’s agreement with me that we should meet there 
later on in case of this very thing happening.” 

Shortly afterwards Cook and his company were 
treated to a glorious sight: the heavens were aglow 
with a strange light. Now it sent out rays in be¬ 
witching spirals; now it emitted sudden brilliant 
flashes. 

The men who were watching it from the deck of 
the Resolution gazed in wonder, because little was 
known in those days about the electric currents pro¬ 
ceeding from the poles. The explorers were conse¬ 
quently filled with awe at the display, and asked each 
other, “What is this marvelous thing?” 

They were to learn long afterwards that it was 
the Aurora Australis of the Antarctic, similar to the 
Aurora Borealis of the Arctic. 


144 




CHAPTER XVI 
Days of Gladness 

B Y the middle of March, the Resolution was 
well on her way northward. There had been 
dangerous moments when the ship found herself 
near a small iceberg as it turned over with a deafen¬ 
ing crash. 

And again she had to fight her way in the teeth 
of a frightful gale. But in course of time all on 
board could breathe freely once more as they left 
ice and bitter cold behind them, and they feasted in 
thought on pictures of what was ahead of them— 
beautiful growing things in a sunny clime which they 
hoped to reach before long, and balmy air without 
a tang. 

“On our way to New Zealand,” determined Cook, 
“we must sail along the coast of Van Dieman’s Land, 
which Farman discovered, so that I can assure my¬ 
self that it is an island as I believe it is.” 

He was unable to carry out this plan because a 
strong wind was against him. It carried the Resolu¬ 
tion almost directly to the western coast of South 
Island, New Zealand. There, in Dusky Bay, the 
ship anchored in a fine harbor where the water was 
so deep close to shore that she could almost touch 

145 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


the land. In fact, one tree near the edge reached 
so far out over the deck of the vessel that the sailors 
could land by swinging themselves across it. 

It seemed glorious to that company of explorers 
to leave the ship which had been their only home for 
more than a hundred days. How delightful it was 
for them to wear thin clothing once more! How 
cheerful were the sunshine, the blue sky, and the 
flowery fields, after their living in chill fog with ice 
floes and bergs on every hand! 

Cook might well rejoice in the good health of his 
men, as they set gayly to work pitching tents and 
setting up an observatory and forge. Only one out 
of the whole company was seriously ill with the 
scurvy against the appearance of which the com¬ 
mander had fought zealously throughout the long 
voyage. He continued his good work by having his 
men collect the leaves of certain shrubs similar to 
myrtle. 

“These, together with malt and molasses,” he 
said, “shall be brewed into beer which will take the 
place of vegetables in keeping my company in good 
health.” 

Soon after their arrival, some of the men went out 
hunting and shot a goodly number of ducks and 
other wild birds. Fish were also caught and seals 
were killed to add to the daily feasts. The seal 
meat, declared Cook, was as good as beefsteak. 
The fat obtained was also useful in furnishing oil 
for the lamps, and the creatures’ skins were pre- 

146 




Days of Gladness 


pared for new rigging needed for the ship. Then, 
too, some edible plants were found growing on the 
island, wild celery and scurvy-grass among them, 
and these were gathered by Cook’s orders and boiled 
with the food served the sailors. 

“My men will surely keep well,” Cook thought, 
“with such varied diet.” 

From time to time natives of the island appeared, 
but they gave little heed to the white men. Then, 
one day after the commander had been out along the 
shore on an exploring trip, he came upon one of the 
native men with two women behind him, near the 
water’s edge. 

The man held a flat stone club and each of the 
women was armed with a spear. 

“I’ll win their good will if possible,” Cook said 
to himself. 

So he sprang out of the boat, and in the friendly 
fashion he had learned from the savages he clasped 
the man in his arms. Then he held out some trinkets 
he had brought with him. The gifts seemed to 
please the savages. The man at once presented 
Cook with a piece of native cloth. At the same time 
he made signs that he wished for a boat cloak like 
those he noticed the white men in the party were 
wearing. Such a garment was shaped for him at 
once out of red cloth. Thereupon he was so pleased 
that he gave Cook his stone club, or “patton” as he 
called it. After that the tongue of one of the 
women was let loose. She chattered on and on and 

147 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


so rapidly that she fairly astonished the white visi¬ 
tors. Cook wrote of her afterwards in his Journal 
that her gift of speech “surpassed that of any talker 
whom I have ever heard.” Unfortunately neither 
he nor any of his party could understand a word 
she said. 

As the weeks passed, the natives appeared more 
and more often, and seemed to wish to be friendly. 
Then one day, two of them, a man and his daughter, 
ventured on board ship, bringing gifts of native 
cloth with them. They were as happy as children at 
what they saw. The chairs, for instance, filled them 
with wonder. They bent their bodies into them as if 
it were the most amusing thing in the world to do. 

Before leaving the ship the man showed his good 
will for Cook in a rather unpleasant way. He 
opened a small bag he had brought with him, stuck 
his fingers inside and lo! they came out covered with 
sticky oil with a vile smell. And then he started to 
grease the commander’s head with it! Cook simply 
could not submit to this. Thereupon the girl dipped 
some feathers into the oil and proceeded to drape 
them about the neck of the artist, Mr. Hodges, who 
happened to be standing near. 

The music made by the white men entranced the 
savages. Never before had they heard bagpipes or 
fifes, while the drum seemed to them best of all. 
What would they have thought of the inventions of 
to-day by which wonderful sounds are heard with 
no musical instrument in sight? 

148 




Days of Gladness 


“This is magic,” they must have declared that day, 
and no doubt they fell down in worship of the gods 
as the white men must have seemed to them. 

The days passed quickly for the explorers in this 
strange land, and May arrived in due time, bring¬ 
ing the rainy season. 

“Leave Dusky Bay and proceed to Queen Char¬ 
lotte Sound.” Such was the order Cook gave, and 
his company regretfully bade good-by to their pleas¬ 
ant surroundings, and went on their way in search 
of fresh adventures. 

After a week’s voyage the wished-for harbor ap¬ 
peared in Queen Charlotte Sound. In it, to Cook’s 
delight, the Adventure lay at anchor, waiting for his 
coming! 

“I have been here six weeks,” so Captain Fur- 
neaux told Cook. 

He went on to explain how the Adventure had 
become separated from her sister ship down in the 
Antarctic. In the thick fog all sight of her had been 
lost. Then the captain heard the report of a gun. 
He returned the fire again and again, heading the 
Adventure in the direction from which the report 
seemed to come, but without avail! 

“For three days,” so he told Cook, “we sailed 
around, hoping to find you. Then we gave up the 
search and started for New Zealand as you had di¬ 
rected.” 

Unfortunately, Captain Furneaux’s troubles had 
not ended after reaching Queen Charlotte Sound. 

149 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


Scurvy had already broken out among his men be¬ 
cause he had not followed Cook’s example in obtain¬ 
ing the vegetable food needed so greatly by the 
sailors. Some of them died, and others were still ill 
when Cook arrived. 

On learning this, he at once saw that supplies of 
scurvy grass were gathered on shore and cooked 
with wheat and broth for the sailors. It proved to 
be of great help in curing the sick. 

“We will stay here in this sound for perhaps two 
months,” the commander decided. “In that time we 
can explore the country more thoroughly than we 
did during our visit of three years ago.” 

He wished to do something else, too; he had 
brought seeds of different grains that grew in Eng¬ 
land which he intended to plant on the island, with 
hardy vegetables—potatos, turnips, etc. Regard¬ 
ing the country as an English possession, he thus 
meant to enrich it so it would be a good place in 
which his countrymen could settle later on. Conse¬ 
quently, he not only planted gardens there in New 
Zealand, but had two sheep and two goats carried 
ashore to live and multiply there, while Captain 
Furneaux landed three hogs. These creatures were 
the only ones left out of a goodly number which had 
been brought from the Cape of Good Hope. The 
others had perished in the cold and dampness of 
the Antarctic. Sad to say, the sheep died shortly 
after they had been put on shore, after eating weeds 
that doubtless poisoned them. 

150 





Days of Gladness 


During his stay in Queen Charlotte Sound, Cook 
found the natives more ready to make friends than 
during his previous visit. They caught plenty of 
fish for the white men’s table, and showed them¬ 
selves eager to visit the ship. But they were filthy 
creatures, and were as thievish as the natives Cook 
had met before. One of the women dared to rob a 
sailor of his jacket and when he tried to get it back, 
the man to whom she had given it began to hurl 
stones at him. 

“I’ll settle you for that,” the sailor thought 
angrily. Rushing to the woman, he proceeded to 
give her a black eye and a bleeding nose. 

“Not one familiar face do I see among these 
people,” thought Cook, with the memory of his for¬ 
mer visit vivid in his mind. 

Then a day arrived when an unusually fine-look¬ 
ing native came on board the Resolution. 

“Where is Tupia?” asked the man. 

On being told that Tupia was dead, he and the 
Maoris who had come with him burst out into 
mournful cries at the fate of one of whom they had 
heard remarkable stories, though they had not 
known him personally. 

“Where are those natives whom I met before?” 
the commander still wondered. “Perhaps they were 
driven away by the people I find here now. Or it 
may be, they left this place to go where they hoped 
to find a more fertile country.” 



CHAPTER XVII 
Beautiful Tahiti Once More 


W E had best make our way to Otaheite,” Cook 
told Captain Furneaux after several weeks’ 
stay in Queen Charlotte Sound. 

So it came about that, early in June, the two ships 
got under way, with the explorers’ thoughts busy 
with the beautiful land they would soon visit. Hith¬ 
erto unknown islands were sighted as the voyage 
continued, till the fifteenth day of August arrived 
and the longed-for sight appeared—Tahiti, with her 
graceful palms, her brilliantly colored birds, her 
abundance of lovely flowers. 

But before a safe anchorage could be found, 
danger faced the ships in a terrible form. Without 
warning, they came close to some coral reefs sunk 
deep in the water. There was a strong current 
against them which they might have resisted if the 
wind had favored them. But it failed them in their 
great need, and they rolled back and forth, unable to 
help themselves. The boats were let down to tow 
them to safety, but in the heavy swell could do 
nothing. Closer and closer to the reefs the Resolu¬ 
tion drifted. 


152 


Beautiful Tahiti Once More 


“Cast the anchor,” Cook ordered. But at first the 
water was too deep for it to hold. 

Ever nearer to destruction drifted the Resolution . 
With each incoming roll of the surf, she was drawn 
closer to the reef. The water was shallow enough 
now for the anchor to hold, but it was too late to 
insure safety. 

The smaller ship, the Adventure, was more fortu¬ 
nate. Her anchor held her before she could strike 
the reef. 

It was the time of day for a sea breeze to spring 
up, but if this should happen, the danger to the 
Resolution would be increased, because she would 
probably be dashed to certain destruction on the 
reef. Fortune was on Cook’s side, however, as she 
had been so many times before; the expected breeze 
did not spring up, and when the tide changed and a 
light land breeze arose the commander breathed 
freely at last. Both ships were soon making their 
way out of danger. 

Tahiti must have seemed wondrously beautiful to 
the weary voyagers when they stepped upon her 
friendly shores. The air was so balmy, the fields 
so fertile, the flowers and birds so lovely! 

The natives seemed rejoiced at the appearance 
of their white visitors. They were quite ready to 
give yams and ripe tropical fruits in exchange for 
beads, hatchets and nails. They even agreed to 
bring the white men fowls and hogs on which they 
longed to feast. 


153 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


But alas! the brown people did not do all they 
promised. Furthermore, they were as much given 
to thieving as during Cook’s previous visit. One of 
the chiefs, for instance, did a very tricky thing: he 
had cocoanut shells which the sailors had thrown 
overboard after they had drunk the milk inside, 
collected and bundled together, and then he traded 
these to the white men for articles they desired. 
Cook had good reason to scold the chief for his de¬ 
ceit, but the man pretended not to understand what 
was said, and acted surprised when the cocoanuts 
were opened before him. But after he had gone 
away he sent Cook other fruit and some plantains 
to atone for his trickery. 

The straightforward commander grieved over the 
dishonesty of the Tahitians whom he could not help 
liking on account of their good nature and evident 
joy at his return. They asked after Mr. Banks and 
others who had been in his company three years be¬ 
fore. But strange to say, they showed no sorrow 
on hearing of Tupia’s death. 

During his stay Cook explored parts of the island 
he had not visited before. During one of his excur¬ 
sions he met a young chief who seemed to have a 
more understanding mind than most of his fellows. 
Cook showed him his watch which he admired 
greatly. Holding it to his ear, he listened eagerly 
to its ticking. 

“What is it for?” he asked wonderingly. 

“It is like the sun,” he was told, “because its hands 

154 




Beautiful Tahiti Once More 


mark off the time of day just as the sun’s journey 
through the sky measures it according to his position 
there.” 

It took the chief quite a while to think out what 
had been told him. Then, looking again at the 
watch, he said, “Little sun.” 

In a few days nearly all the sick men of the Ad¬ 
venture had recovered. The fresh fruits and vege¬ 
tables they had eaten had proved to be a speedy cure 
for their ills. 

“We will leave here to go to Matavai Bay where 
I made a long stay during my last voyage,” decided 
Cook. 

To that safe harbor, therefore, the two ships 
next sailed. There the commander was almost over¬ 
whelmed by the loving attentions of the natives who 
well remembered his former visit. And yet—even 
while they embraced him and those of his compan¬ 
ions whom they recognized as old friends, they 
watched for opportunities to steal whatever their 
hands could reach. 

The women and girls were particularly loving in 
manner in order to touch the hearts of the white men 
and make them more generous. Some of the girls 
were really handsome, with beautiful white teeth 
and bewitching smiles. So, when they entreated the 
sailors, “Be good to your dear little sisters,” more 
than one of the men was deeply touched. 

“A life spent here with these charming creatures 

155 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


would be very pleasant,” some of the sailors doubt¬ 
less said to themselves. 

The two Forsters must often have been thorns in 
the flesh to Cook during his wanderings because 
much of the time they seemed to see only the bad 
.in whatever took place. But in beautiful Tahiti they 
were entranced, and had little but praise of it to 
write in their journals. 

Pleasant as was the stay in Matavai Bay, Cook 
felt that he could not linger longer. He wished to 
explore the Society Islands further. On the first 
day of September, therefore, the ships sailed away 
with the shore they left behind them lined with dark- 
skinned natives grieving at the departure of the 
white men. 

Two days afterwards they dropped anchor on the 
coast of Huaheine where Cook visited his old friend, 
Chief Orea. Orea was so glad to see him that he 
wept tears of joy, and the commander himself was 
so deeply affected that he wrote afterwards of Orea 
as his father. 

For the most part all went well during the stay 
at the island and Cook was able to secure a large 
supply of vegetables, cocoanuts and bananas for the 
ships. One thing happened, however, that might 
have ended badly for the commander. He was told 
that a certain native had been very impudent to some 
of the white visitors. 

“I’ll attend to this matter at once,” he decided. 

So he went directly to the native who was bran- 

156 




Beautiful Tahiti Once More 


dishing two clubs. Being as usual without fear, he 
seized the clubs and broke them in two, something 
which only a very strong man like himself could have 
done. After that he drew his sword from its sheath 
and pointing it at the man, drove him before it. 
The natives who saw this must have admired the 
“white chief” more than ever before because of his 
bravery and his strength. 

When the Resolution and Adventure sailed away 
soon afterwards a new member had been added 
with Captain Furneaux’s consent to the company on 
his ship. It was the youth Omai. He was of com¬ 
mon family but had an unusually bright mind, and so 
longed for adventure that he had begged to go with 
the white men. Cook had very readily consented 
because he felt that the young fellow would be of 
help in dealing with the people of other islands he 
might visit later. 

The next stop was at the island of Ulietea. A 
chief whom Cook had met on his previous visit was 
delighted at his coming. Through him the com¬ 
mander met the king of the island, who was very 
hospitable and helped to make his noble white guest 
enjoy himself. He gave him presents and had little 
plays and graceful dances performed in his honor. 
He even visited the ship with some of his wives one 
of whom was so beautiful that the artist, Mr. 
Hodges, painted her picture. 

Now among the islanders was a youth to whom 
Cook took a great fancy. 

157 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


“His complexion and clothes,” so the commander 
wrote in his Journal, “caused me to think that he was 
of good family.” 

“Should I let this youth, Oedidea, go with me?” 
he asked himself, as he thought of the carefree easy 
life of the natives in their own home. 

So he took pains to explain to the young fellow 
what he must undergo if he sailed away with him. 
He must eat coarse food; he must work hard; he 
would certainly suffer in a cold climate. And yet 
Oedidea was still determined to leave home and 
friends in search of the unknown. 

Little could the commander blame him. He, too, 
had left all he knew behind him when the sea had 
called to him long ago in a little fishing village. 




CHAPTER XVIII 
Queer Fashions 


W HAT a good time we have had!” the voyag¬ 
ers must have thought as they left behind 
what Cook had well named the Society Islands. 

“We will make our way westward,” he said, hop¬ 
ing to come upon some islands that had been discov¬ 
ered by Tasman and his fellow Dutchman, Schouten. 

On sailed the ships in close company, with little 
happening except the discovery of the small but the 
beautiful Hervey Islands on which no people seemed 
to be living. Without stopping there, the explorers 
voyaged on till they sighted another beautiful island 
two weeks after they had left the Society group be¬ 
hind them. As they came closer, they could see fer¬ 
tile fields where gardens had been carefully laid out. 
Sweet-singing birds flew overhead and the air was 
fragrant. 

Before a good place had been found to anchor, 
the natives came paddling out in their canoes to 
make the acquaintance of the newcomers. They 
even boarded the Resolution without showing the 
least fear. One of them held a kind of pepper plant 
with which he rubbed Cook’s nose and the noses of 

i59 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


his companions. It was as much as to say, u Let us 
be friends.” 

Both ships speedily found canoes about them on 
every hand. The natives in them had brought a 
curious kind of cloth for sale which had been made 
out of the fibers of certain plants. Such a hubbub as 
they made, as they shouted their wares in a strange 
tongue I Afterwards, when Cook had landed and 
found himself surrounded by natives who had 
flocked to the shore to greet him and offer their vis¬ 
itors still other cloth, he was glad to find these peo¬ 
ple even more pleased to give than receive. They 
actually cast bundle after bundle of the cloth into 
the white men’s midst, and then turned away with¬ 
out asking anything in return. Their chief led his 
visitors to his home where he offered them entertain¬ 
ment. Cook was so pleased that he ordered some 
Scotch sailors who were with him to play on their 
bagpipes. The chief enjoyed the merry music, and 
in turn ordered three young girls to entertain the 
visitors with songs. Harsh as their voices doubt¬ 
less were, Cook praised the songs afterwards in his 
Journal. 

After this interesting call the commander made a 
trip farther inland with some of his company. 
Wherever he went, he found the people delighted to 
see him, and showing their friendship by kissing 
their hands and then pressing them against their 
hearts. How had they learned this charming fash¬ 
ion? Had those dark-skinned people kissed each 

160 



Queer Fashions 


other before white men had adopted this way of 
showing affection? Who knows? 

After a day’s visit among them, Cook sailed on 
to the near-by island of Tongatabu, or Amsterdam 
as it is called to-day. He found the people there as 
friendly and the country as beautiful as the island 
he had just visited. It was easy to get supplies of 
fruit in trade, as well as pigs and fowls. The natives 
also offered mats and cloth, besides oddly carved or¬ 
naments and tools that the sailors wished to carry 
home; but the commander refused to allow trading 
for these. Food for future use on the voyage was 
in his eyes all important. 

He was amazed at the industry of the natives in 
tending their crops. “There was not an inch of 
spare ground,” so he wrote in his Journal, “the 
roads occupied no more space than was absolutely 
necessary, the fences did not take up above four 
inches each; and even this was not wholly lost, for 
in many were planted some useful trees or plants.” 

And all this care taken on an island in the mid- 
Pacific, far from the lands of civilized people! It 
seemed wonderful, wonderful! 

The natives were good-looking, with fine, strong 
bodies. Every one Cook met seemed to be in good 
health. With all their love of order and beauty, 
these people had some queer customs. The men 
shaved their faces with shells, and the women, who 
were quite pretty, powdered their short-cut hair. 
Some of the powder was white, some red, some blue. 

161 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


As Cook looked about him he discovered most of 
the grown-ups on the island had no little fingers. 
He soon learned the reason; they had cut them off 
to show their grief at the death of relations or 
close friends. 

In one thing he must have been disappointed: he 
found that the natives, intelligent as they were in 
many ways, were given to theft like the islanders he 
had met elsewhere. And here it must be admitted 
that, after the many trying experiences with thieves 
in the past, the commander sometimes lost his tem¬ 
per and punished very severely those who stole, 
whether they were natives or his own men. 

Altogether, he was much in love with this charm¬ 
ing place. The people were both kind and generous. 

“I will call it and the lands near by the Friendly 
Islands,” he decided, and to this day they bear the 
name he gave them. 

During the pleasant stay there of the two ships, 
Cook showed his usual courage in a curious way. 
One of the chiefs, wishing to do his guests honor, of¬ 
fered them a drink which he called “ava.” The 
stomachs of the white men rebelled at the thought 
of even tasting it. And no wonder! It had been 
made in this way: some of the natives had chewed 
the roots of the ava plant, and then spit the juice 
into a deep dish and added water to it, or milk from 
cocoanuts. 

Though Cook disliked the idea of drinking it as 

162 




Queer Fashions 


much as his companions, he thought, “I must not of¬ 
fend my kind host.” 

He therefore managed somehow or other to swal¬ 
low his portion. 

Before leaving the island, the commander took 
pains to plant seeds of different vegetables he had 
brought with him from Europe, as he had done in 
other places. 

His plans were already carefully made; now that 
winter was coming to an end in the Antarctic he 
meant to renew his search for the dreamed-of south¬ 
ern continent. 

So they left the beautiful little island of Amster¬ 
dam in the South Seas, and the two ships were 
headed for New Zealand where plenty of wood and 
fresh water could be secured. 

Cook’s companions felt sad at the possibility of 
suffering and danger to come. They had been happy 
and comfortable during the past months, while 
ahead of them were meals of salt meat and hard 
biscuits, and ripe cocoanuts and bananas would soon 
be only a memory. Freezing air would take the 
place of balmy breezes. Heavy clothes must be 
worn again to keep off the disagreeable advances of 
Jack Frost. Hard work for the sailors was to fol¬ 
low days of ease and merriment among the smiling 
pretty maidens. 

Nevertheless, all went well till Queen Charlotte 
Sound on the New Zealand coast was almost in sight. 
Then a hurricane arose in which heavy seas dashed 

163 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


over the decks, and even the sailors’ bunks were 
drenched with the water that poured in. There was 
little sleep for any one on board because of the heavy 
rolling of the ships and the angry roaring of the 
waves. It was a gloomy time for all. Worst of all, 
the two vessels became parted and were not to sight 
each other again till home should be reached months 
afterwards. 

When the storm had abated and the Resolution 
was able to make her way into Queen Charlotte 
Sound, Cook had to attend at once to the repairs 
that must be made before the vessel would be safe 
for further sailing. 

He shortly made a sad discovery: many barrels 
of biscuits had been soaked in the salt water that had 
entered the ship during the hurricane. Some of the 
biscuits were completely spoiled while others were 
so moldy and ill-smelling that it would be hard work 
to swallow them. 

To the commander’s relief he found the natives 
inclined to be friendly, although they stole from the 
white men whenever chance offered. One of them 
even dared to pry into Cook’s pockets and robbed 
him of his handkerchief. 

Moreover, they were filthy as compared with the 
people of the Society and Friendly Islands. Worse 
still, they were cannibals. One of them openly ate 
part of the body of a youth they had killed! Oedi- 
dea, who you remember had come with Cook from 
the Society Islands, was filled with horror and dis- 

164 




Queer Fashions 


gust at the vile customs and brutal actions of these 
New Zealanders. He would not even touch the fel¬ 
low he had seen eating human flesh, and declared 
he could not be the friend of the Maoris. 

The commander was soon busy trying to find out 
what had happened to the animals he had left on the 
island during his previous visit. He learned that 
the two goats had been killed, and that two of the 
hogs had disappeared in the woods. 

“I will try again,” he decided. At his order, 
therefore, three hogs and some fowls which had been 
brought from the Friendly Islands were carried on 
shore, together with the two last goats Cook had 
with him. 

When he went to visit the gardens he had planted 
with seeds the spring before, he was cheered by find¬ 
ing a goodly crop of vegetables which would be of 
service in keeping his men healthy in the voyage 
ahead of them. 

“Before going away, I must leave a letter behind 
me for Captain Furneaux,” he determined. “My 
instructions before I lost sight of him were that he 
should sail here to meet me in case we became sepa¬ 
rated.” 

Accordingly, directions as to the future were writ¬ 
ten and put inside a bottle. Then a hole was dug in 
the middle of one of the gardens Cook had planted 
not far from the water’s edge, and the bottle was 
buried in it. 

The next day, November 26, the commander and 

165 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


his company sailed out of Queen Charlotte Sound, 
bound for the icy waters of the Antarctic. 

“Shall I be rewarded for the voyage ahead of 
me?” Cook wondered. He knew what was ahead. 
He and his companions must encounter storms and 
bitter cold and danger again and again in the search 
for an unknown continent. Yet he did not hesitate. 

“We will stand by our brave leader,” so agreed 
his devoted men because of their trust in his wise 
judgment. So with stout hearts and smiling faces 
they set to their various duties, though they wished 
in vain that a companion ship were making her way 
close at hand. Life would then seem cheerier, but it 
was not to be. 

Soon after December opened icebergs began to 
appear, a chilling sight, with snow falling almost 
constantly. When Christmas morning dawned with 
clearing air, one hundred icebergs could be counted, 
and the cold was bitter indeed. Every one on board 
strove to make merry, however. The dinner was 
better than usual, and a general allowance of grog 
was given to each sailor. 

Cook could not have helped longing that day for 
a sight of his wife and sons in the cosy London home. 
And he was doubtless asking himself by this time, 
“After all, is my search fruitless? Can there be the 
great southern continent of which my countrymen 
have been dreaming?” 

As he gazed at vast floating ice fields, he had be¬ 
gun to think that ice must reach to the South Pole. 

166 






Queer Fashions 


“Or else,” he mused, “the unknown continent 
stretches far back behind that ice, and no human 
being can possibly reach it.” 

He continued, “I must not risk the lives of my 
companions in keeping on with a search for it.” 
Even if discovered, he felt that it would be of no 
use to mankind if living creatures of any kind what¬ 
soever could not exist there. 

Now, therefore, he began to discuss a fresh plan 
with his officers. He told them he had decided that 
the Resolution had best head north where search 
should be made for two islands discovered long ago, 
but not located carefully at the time. One of these 
had been sighted by the Spaniard, Juan Fernandez, 
and the other by an explorer named Davis. 

“If we can’t find the first we must search for the 
second so that I may place its correct position on the 
map,” the commander explained. 

“After that,” he continued, “we will make our 
way to warmer waters and forge on to Tahiti. 
There we may get news of the Adventure.” 

But Cook’s plan did not end there. He intended 
ro visit other islands in the South Pacific, after which 
he would head for Cape Horn, round that rocky 
headland the following November, and spend 
months afterwards exploring the South Atlantic be¬ 
fore sailing to England. 

That was a big plan indeed for the explorers to 
carry out after having voyaged for more than two 

167 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


years. And yet neither officers nor crew uttered a 
word of complaint at what was still ahead of them. 
Such was their faith in the man who commanded 
the expedition. 




CHAPTER XIX 


Stewed Dog 


H E is very ill.” So Dr. Patten, who looked after 
the health of the company, said to himself 
when he stood beside Cook’s bedside and noted the 
fever that seemed to be burning him up. 

The commander was still trying to locate an 
island discovered the century before when he began 
to realize that something was wrong with himself. 
“What can be the matter with me?” he wondered. 
He tried to forget the pains that wracked his 
body, and kept on attending to his duties, but a day 
came when he could not force himself to keep about 
any longer. And so Dr. Patten had to take him in 
hand, and he did his best to bring relief to the suf¬ 
ferer. 

“It is a bilious attack,” he decided, “and is so 
acute that my patient’s life is in danger.” 

The next few days were full of anxiety for every 
one in the ship’s company, and a week passed before 
Cook was pronounced out of danger. 

The fever had left him very weak and he was in 
need of nourishing food that could be digested easily. 
Unfortunately, there was not even a fowl left on 
board that could be killed and cooked for the sick 

169 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


man. Then some one suggested dog stew. It 
might help to bring health back to the commander. 
But where was the needed dog? 

Mr. Forster, it so happened, had brought one as 
a pet and he loved it greatly. Yet he now nobly of¬ 
fered to sacrifice the little creature. It was forth¬ 
with killed and made into soup which Cook ate with 
relish, and from that time his strength slowly came 
back. 

By that time many of his men had begun to sicken. 
They had been sailing for many weeks out of sight 
of any land where they might stop to get fresh food 
and water and to Cook’s distress had been obliged 
to live on salt junk and spoiled biscuits, while the 
cold and dampness had cut into their bodies. 

“We must try our best to reach the land Davis 
discovered, as soon as possible. It cannot be far 
from here,” meditated the commander, who was 
once more able to direct the course of the ship. 

So the ship speeded on her way, and at last Easter 
Island came into view. The joy of every one on 
board was unbounded as the ship came closer and 
closer to the shore of that strange land lying in mid- 
Atlantic, far to the west of South America. 

Joy, indeed! But the hearts of the company sank 
when no good drinking water could be obtained in 
the place and they found little growing there save 
bananas. The natives, however, were friendly. 
Nevertheless, they showed the same vice that Cook 

170 



Stewed Dog 


had found in other places he had visited: they were 
ever on the watch to steal from their visitors. 

In that lonely spot Cook and his companions had 
cause for wonder. Tall black columns rose before 
them, and many immense statues carved out of stone, 
which must have stood there for ages, were to be 
seen. Who had built them? Surely not ignorant, 
stupid people like the present inhabitants of the 
island. Had a great race once dwelt there? It was 
a riddle Cook could not solve, nor has any one since 
his time solved it. 

It was of no use to linger long at Easter Island 
since greatly needed food supplies could not be ob¬ 
tained there. So the Resolution was shortly on her 
way to the Marquesas Islands. Four of these had 
been discovered by a Spaniard, but the fifth one was 
first sighted by one of Cook’s officers. 

“Hereafter it shall be called Hood’s Island in 
honor of our young discoverer,” declared Cook. 

Soon afterwards the ship entered a safe harbor 
on the coast of another of the Marquesas Islands 
and natives appeared ready for trade. But here it 
was the same old story: they were ready to steal 
whenever chance offered. When one of them 
boarded the ship he boldly seized an iron stanchion 
and speedily made off with it in his canoe. One of 
the men on deck shot at him, though it was against 
the commander’s orders, and the thief was killed. 
That scared the rest of his people so much that they 

171 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


plainly feared to have dealings with the white men. 

“Yet it is necessary for me to get some supplies 
here,” thought Cook. “Somehow or other, I must 
win the natives’ confidence enough to do a little trad¬ 
ing with them.” 

He was soon made easy in mind by their bringing 
tropical fruit, yams, and tender little pigs to ex¬ 
change for the nails and beads he offered them. All 
was going well when one of the ship’s officers inno¬ 
cently did an unfortunate thing: he traded some 
bright red feathers for a pig. At that, the other 
savages were filled with envy and began to demand 
feathers for themselves. Sad to say, there were no 
more among the stores, and as the people no longer 
showed interest in beads and nails, further trading 
became impossible. 

However, before leaving the Marquesas Islands, 
Cook spent a good deal of time in making observa¬ 
tions along the coast so that he could mark the exact 
position of the islands on his chart. He also made 
trips into the country which he found quite fertile. 
Of course, Mr. Forster and his son were glad to go 
with him in search of rare trees and plants. 

“The men here are unusually fine looking,” he ob¬ 
served, “and their figures are tall and straight.” 

For the most part he saw few women, since they 
were probably kept hidden lest they should be 
harmed by the white visitors. 

“Head for Tahiti,” so Cook ordered when the 
Resolution set sail once more. 

172 






Stewed Dog 

As she voyaged onward through pleasant waters 
the explorers kept their eyes open for new islands 
and were rewarded with fresh discoveries. Many 
of these islands had been built up from the ocean 
floor by coral insects and lay very low in the water. 
Some of them were nearly round, with lakes in the 
center. The men who landed were rewarded by the 
sight of beautiful fishes of many hues swimming lei' 
surely about in the lakes on whose borders graceful 
palm trees were growing. 

On one island Cook saw people whose bodies were 
tattooed with the figures of fishes. The savages had 
thus marked themselves as a sign that they got their 
living by fishing. 

April was nearly ended when Tahiti was sighted 
at last. After their eight months of absence, the 
island seemed lovelier than ever to Cook and his 
companions. The frozen Antarctic with its for¬ 
bidding ice packs and bergs might easily seem a bad 
dream when they looked about them at the fragrant 
flowers and graceful trees, and drew in long quaffs 
of the delicious air. 

The natives were even friendlier than at the last 
visit of the white men. King Otoo and his chiefs 
showed themselves devoted to Cook who found that 
thieving, however, was commonly practiced by their 
followers. 

“I’ll stop it so far as I can,” the commander de¬ 
termined. 

Accordingly, when one of the Maoris started to 

i73 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


make off with a cask, he had the fellow seized, taken 
on board the ship, and bound with irons. 

At that, King Otoo, filled with pity, insisted on 
the thief’s being set free. 

“No,” Cook told him. “If any of my men should 
rob one of your people, I would have him punished 
as I am now going to punish this man.” 

He was as good as his word. He ordered the 
thief brought on shore where he was given a sound 
thrashing, while Otoo looked on in great grief and 
many of his subjects burst into tears. 

“I hope these Tahitians have learned this lesson,” 
Cook doubtless thought when the flogging was over 
and the thief had been set free. 

Happy care-free weeks passed on the island. Day 
after day Cook let the sailors do much as they 
pleased, so they wandered at will about the island, 
feasting on the fresh fruit and fish, and entering into 
the sports of the natives. Then, after a long rest, 
the explorers were ready to visit Huaheine where 
they felt sure of a continued good time among 
friendly people. 

After a short visit there they went on to Ulietea 
where Oedidea was to remain with his own people. 
He wept bitterly at the parting with his white 
friends. But Cook had said positively, “It is not 
best for Oedidea to go with us farther,” and that 
decided the matter. 

Soon after reluctantly bidding good-by to friendly 
Ulietea the explorers discovered two new islands. 

i74 





Stewed Dog 


One of these Cook called Palmerston Island and 
the other Savage Island. Well might he give the 
name of Savage to the place, as you shall see. When 
he landed there with a small company from the ship, 
the natives gathered to attack them with stones and 
spears. Thereupon the marines who had come with 
Cook fired off their muskets, at which the savages 
fled in great fright. 

“No good will come of our staying here any 
longer,” decided Cook. 

So back to the ship they went, to sail farther 
along the coast and attempt another landing. But 
when they next stopped they met with an even worse 
reception than before. The natives hurled spears at 
them and one of these grazed the commander’s 
shoulder. His life was nearly at stake because the 
spear was doubtless pointed with some poisonous 
substance bound to bring death if it entered the body. 

Quickly, therefore, he fired at the savage; but in 
his haste he missed his aim, and when the natives 
kept up their attack he decided that it was foolish 
to stay longer in the place. He therefore gave the 
order to sail on. 

Some of the islands the explorers afterwards 
passed were too small to arouse their interest, while 
others sighted by previous explorers seemed large 
enough to merit brief visits. 

After a few days during which no exciting events 
took place, Cook sighted two hitherto undiscovered 
islands of the New Hebrides group. 

175 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


“What ugly creatures the savages who live in 
these islands are!” thought the white men after 
landing among them. Their bodies were short, their 
skins very dark, and the tops of their heads slanted 
up from their narrow foreheads to a ridge. They 
were very fierce, and their favorite weapons were 
poisoned arrows. Worse still, many of them were 
cannibals. 

Yet Cook dared to go about among them quite 
alone, not even carrying a weapon of defense. In 
fact, he bore nothing except a green branch which 
spoke for him thus: “I mean only kindness.” De¬ 
pending upon this green branch for safety, he made 
his way freely from place to place. 

To his surprise, he found that the natives of the 
New Hebrides did not thieve like the people of the 
other islands he had visited. Savage as they were, 
they seemed to heed a voice within them saying, 
“Thou shalt not steal.” 

The next island visited was Mallicolo where the 
natives immediately made out from shore to greet 
the white men. Each of them carried a green branch 
to show his good will, but oh! such ugly looking 
people as they were. Their skins were very dark, 
their bodies were badly shaped, their noses were 
flat, and their foreheads narrow. And yet they 
seemed to have quick-working minds because they 
readily understood the signs Cook and his compan¬ 
ions made to them. 

They were permitted to board the ship, where- 

176 





Stewed Dog 


upon the white men had great fun in watching them 
look at themselves in the mirrors. Ugly as they 
were, they seemed delighted at their appearance. 

Afterwards they lost their good nature. When 
one of them tried to enter a boat and was refused 
by the sailor guarding it, he made ready to shoot 
at him with a poisoned arrow, but was held back 
from doing so by his companions. The next in¬ 
stant, however, he started to aim again just as Cook 
appeared on the deck of the ship. 

“Stop!” the commander signed, “or you will suf¬ 
fer for this.” 

In answer, the savage pointed his arrow at him. 
It was well for Cook that he had his gun with him. 
But he was obliged to fire it twice before the man 
and his companions fled in fright. 

There were still other unpleasant encounters, but 
Cook soon brought an end to these by his courage. 
Going on shore with a few companions, he boldly 
advanced to meet several hundred natives holding 
war weapons in their hands. And Cook’s sole ar¬ 
mor was a green branch! 

At that a chief, disarming himself, advanced to 
meet the white leader and make a peace treaty with 
him. 

“We will not stay here any longer,” Cook told 
his company when he found after a few days that 
he could do little trading with the savages because 
they did not care for the beads and other trinkets 

177 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


he offered, nor even for nails such as other islanders 
had coveted. 

So the commander proceeded to explore the 
waters elsewhere. He discovered several small 
islands and went on shore at Erromango where the 
people pretended at first to be friendly and then sud¬ 
denly attacked the white men. Thick through the 
air they sent arrows, stones, and spears against them. 
To save his men, Cook ordered them to shoot, and 
the result was that two of the savages were killed 
and others were wounded. 

“It is useless to linger here,” thought Cook. 

So once more the explorers set forth, but only to 
sail a short distance to the near-by island of Tanna 
where the really fine-looking natives became friendly 
after an unpleasant encounter at first. The men of 
the island seemed to lead an easy life among beauti¬ 
ful trees, with gay flowers blossoming everywhere 
around them while the women did the heavy work. 

“There is one drawback to this lovely land,” 
Cook and his companions agreed. It seems that an 
active volcano was almost steadily sending out a 
stream of smoke, flames, and sometimes stones that 
reached th t Resolution though she was anchored four 
miles away. Ashes from the fire covered everything 
on board the ship. They even got into the food and 
blinded the eyes of the explorers. When it rained 
the condition was no better because the dust was 
then mixed with water and the mud covered the ves¬ 
sel’s deck from end to end. 

178 




Stewed Dog 


Consequently, after a short stay at Tanna, Cook 
explored neighboring islands; and though some of 
these had been visited by voyagers before, he gave 
the name of New Hebrides to the whole group. 




CHAPTER XX 
Bad News 

W E will return to New Zealand,” planned Cook. 

“When we have obtained there all the wood 
and fresh water we will need for a long voyage, we 
will try once more to discover the unknown conti¬ 
nent since the Antarctic summer is near at hand.” 

After all, you see, this determined man had not 
decided to give up as yet the search on which Eng¬ 
land had sent him. 

“There may be hitherto unknown islands between 
the New Hebrides and New Zealand,” he thought. 
“So we must keep our eyes open for fresh discoveries 
on our way.” 

He was not disappointed, for after a four days’ 
sail he came in sight of a large and beautiful island, 
with mountains down whose slopes streams flowed 
to the fertile lands below. Sugar cane and yams 
had been planted by the natives, banana palms were 
growing, loaded with great clusters of fruit. Tall 
pines stretched from the fertile soil far up toward 
the heavens, with their feathery tops as graceful 
as delicate ferns. 

The inhabitants of this lovely land joyfully wel¬ 
comed the white strangers who were unlike any peo- 

180 


Bad News 


pie they had ever seen before. They seemed glad 
to serve their guests, and showed no desire to steal 
from them. 

Cook, thinking of what was ahead of him, did not 
stay long in this enchanting place to which he gave 
the name New Caledonia. 

Before leaving, however, he sailed for some dis¬ 
tance along the coast off whose southern shore he 
found dangerous coral reefs and shoals. The great¬ 
est care had to be used to prevent the vessel from 
being wrecked. As soon as she was safely out of 
those treacherous waters, she went on her way to 
Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, which now 
seemed a familiar camping ground to the explorers. 

On the way there, some small islands were dis¬ 
covered, one of them being the lovely Island of 
Pines, so named by Cook because of its beautiful 
trees. 

When he reached New Zealand, you may readily 
guess what he did first of all: he sought the tree be¬ 
neath which he had placed a bottle months before, 
containing his letter to Captain Furneaux. It was 
not there. 

“Furneaux must have been here,” he decided. 

At first no natives were in sight. But when some 
of them appeared after a while, they seemed de¬ 
lighted to see Cook and his companions once more. 

“Did the Adventure come here after I left?” 
Cook asked. 

181 



The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


To this their answer was, “Yes.” They said, 
further, that the vessel had visited their shores 
some months ago, but they acted queer at mention 
of her coming. Evidently they did not wish to talk 
about it. 

“Something must have gone wrong at that time,” 
mused Cook. “That is evident because a number 
of the natives have spoken vaguely of white men 
having been killed while others, on being asked about 
it, have declared strenuously that this was not so.” 

In spite of many questions, however, he got no 
inkling of the terrible thing that had happened be¬ 
fore his coming. Months, in fact, passed before he 
finally heard, after reaching the Cape of Good 
Hope, the bloodcurdling story of the massacre that 
had occurred during the Adventure’s stay at the 
island. 

This is the tale: soon after the Resolution had left 
Queen Charlotte Sound the Adventure had arrived 
there. She stayed in the harbor quite a while, and 
all went well till the day before leaving, when a 
boatload of the men with two midshipmen in charge, 
Mr. Rowe and Mr. Woodhouse, went ashore to get 
some wild celery and did not return as ordered at 
nightfall. 

Captain Furneaux, fearing harm had befallen the 
missing sailors, sent a second party to look for them 
as soon as daylight arrived. When they returned to 
the ship they brought doleful tidings. The natives 

182 





The chief put on the uniform and walked 
forth with great pride. 























The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


whom they met would give no information in regard 
to their friends, but they finally discovered some 
shoes, and one of these, as they knew, had been worn 
by Mr. Woodhouse. Afterwards they found the hand 
of a white man which they recognized as that of 
Thomas Hill. After that, dreadful to relate, they 
came upon parts of the bodies of the missing men 
which had been scattered about for the dogs to eat 
after the savages had finished their horrible feast. 

No hope was left, since not one of the party could 
be found still living. Sick at heart, Captain Fur- 
neaux and his remaining companions sailed away 
with none of the natives in sight. Fearful of the 
white men’s anger, they were in hiding. 

It was well for Cook that during his visit he did 
not guess what a horrible death had befallen some 
of the men who had sailed on the Adventure. He 
was therefore friendly with the natives and espe¬ 
cially with their chiefs. To one of these, a man of 
considerable power, he even gave a complete uni¬ 
form which the chief put on and then walked forth 
among his people with great pride. 

The tenth day of November arrived. The ship 
had been overhauled and a supply of water, fresh 
fruit, and vegetables had been stored on board. The 
-crew were in good health, and ready for the voyage 
into southern waters which their leader had planned. 
Then away sailed the Resolution bound for new ad¬ 
ventures. 

“Direct the ship’s course to Cape Horn. ,, Such 

184 




Bad News 


was the commander’s order because he wished to 
make a careful study of the regions around it. 

Five weeks of steady sailing went by with little 
of storm or danger. Then the island of Tierra del 
Fuego came into sight. Bleak as it was, the ex¬ 
plorers saw ferns growing among the rocks and 
birds nesting in the tall trees that managed to grow 
in the stony soil. 

Moreover, they found numbers of mussels on the 
rocky shores of tiny islands near by. Not only these! 
They discovered wild celery in abundance; and bet¬ 
ter yet, some strange but delicious fruit growing on 
shrubs. The southern summer was at its height. 

“We can celebrate Christmas in splendid fash¬ 
ion,” all agreed when they observed the celery and 
fruit they had gathered and the wild geese some of 
them had shot, to say nothing of several hundred 
swallows’ eggs they had found in nests near the. 
water’s edge. 

A pleasant Christmas it proved to be for all on 
board. Cook wrote of it in his Journal: “I do not 
believe our friends in England kept Christmas as 
merrily as we did.” 

He seemed to enjoy the roasted geese and goose 
pie the cook served, as much as any one else on 
board. 

Some of the natives of the country visited the 
white men. But they were dirty, and ugly, and 
nearly naked; and they smelled so disgustingly of 

185 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 

the stale oil which they spread on their bodies that 
even the sailors would not approach them. 

After Cook had obtained a fresh supply of wood 
and water, the Resolution sailed around the ever 
dangerous Cape Horn without accident. 

Once in the Atlantic, the commander set to work 
on his charts. Never up to that time had the lands 
and waters in that part of the world been accurately 
surveyed. Cook determined that it was high time 
to do it now. 

While busy in this way, he also discovered islands 
which other explorers had never seen before. One 
of these was very small, but most interesting. No 
human beings lived there, though it had countless 
inhabitants—sea lions, sea bears, seals, and pen¬ 
guins sporting without fear on the sands and among 
the rocks. All was peace and harmony among them. 

The middle of January was close at hand when a 
large island came into view. It was a desolate-look¬ 
ing place, with high mountains and deep valleys 
robed in snow, and ice cliffs on the shores. No liv¬ 
ing creature was in sight save seals and the birds 
that flew overhead making doleful cries. Yet Cook 
thought it worth while to land on the island where 
with due ceremony he claimed it for his king, giving 
it the name of South Georgia. 

Soon after his brief stay in this place he ordered 
the ship to sail southward in search of fresh discov¬ 
eries. He soon came upon a group of islands to 
which he gave the name Sandwich Land. Icebergs 

186 




Bad News 


were in sight and cakes of ice floated around the 
ship. Fog shut it in much of the time and the chill 
air cut its way through the warmest clothing worn 
by the men. 

“Beyond us are other islands,” observed Cook, 
“but I can gain nothing by sailing among them.” 

He thought further: “It is impossible to reach 
that unknown continent I have hoped in vain to dis¬ 
cover. Ice would block my way and we would 
certainly meet with destruction.” 

At the same time he did not give up the idea of 
there being such a continent. But he believed it lay 
near the South Pole, that it was covered with ice, 
and that the great bergs found in the Antarctic had 
broken away from it. 

He wrote further about it in his Journal, saying: 
“The risque one runs in exploring a coast in these 
unknown and icy waters is so very great that I can 
be bold enough to say that no man will ever ven¬ 
ture farther than I have done; and that the lands 
which may lie to the south will never be explored.” 

Much more he wrote in regard to the dangers that 
adventurers in those far southern waters would be 
bound to meet. Little did he dream in that long 
ago of what Commander Byrd was yet to achieve 
with the aid of modern inventions. 

The brave leader had done his best. Of this he 
felt sure when he told his companions of his deci¬ 
sion to turn about. They were heartily glad when 
the ship was headed for the Cape of Good Hope 

187 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


on the way to England, and a last good-by had been 
said to icebergs and cutting fogs. 

The middle of March found the explorers near¬ 
ing the Cape when they were rewarded with a glori¬ 
ous sight—several sister ships. One of these was 
returning to Holland after a voyage to India. Her 
captain generously offered Cook sugar and other 
greatly needed supplies, though the ship going to 
Holland did not have an abundance herself. 

Shortly afterwards still other vessels appeared. 
From one of these, bound for England, Cook re¬ 
ceived a priceless gift—some old newspapers printed 
in the mother country. We can scarcely imagine the 
eagerness with which the men on the Resolution read 
those papers. For the first time in almost three 
years they learned of what had been happening at 
home during their long absence. 

On the other hand, Cook was glad to have a 
chance to send letters back to England telling of 
what he had accomplished, because he could not re¬ 
turn at once. The Resolution must first be over¬ 
hauled and repaired because the storms of the 
Antarctic had made her unsafe in her present condi¬ 
tion for the long voyage still ahead. 

Six days after meeting the other ships, the Reso¬ 
lution landed safely at the Cape of Good Hope. 
Only three of the men were ill, and these not ex¬ 
tremely so. They soon recovered in the balmy air, 
with plenty of fresh food to strengthen their bodies. 
Cook’s record was a remarkable one for a sea cap- 

188 





Bad News 


tain of that time. That there was no scurvy on 
board after such long wanderings over the ocean 
showed wonderful care and wonderful management. 

Several weeks passed at the Cape before the 
Resolution had been put into good shape and needed 
supplies had been stored on board. Then she set 
forth, carrying a happy, merry company of men 
who could now say, “In a few days—yes, just a few 
days—we will be in our own homes if all goes well. 
And oh! what tales we can then tell of the adven¬ 
tures we have shared on sea and land in far places.” 

Of what was Cook thinking during those last days 
on the ocean? Of his precious wife and sons, with¬ 
out question. And also, of course, of the way in 
which the news of his discoveries would be received 
by his king, the lords of the Admiralty, and indeed 
by all his countrymen. He had reason for pride be¬ 
cause only four out of his whole company had met 
death since leaving England more than three years 
before. Three of these had died from accident, and 
one from a disease of long standing. Moreover, 
that terrible scourge scurvy had not caused the death 
of a single member of his crew! This alone was 
enough to bring renown to the truly great leader. 




CHAPTER XXI 
The Homecoming 

I T is more than I expected.” So must Cook have 
felt when he found himself the most talked-of 
man in all England. And even though the country 
was at war with the United States, and every one 
excited over that! Yes, the American Revolution 
had begun, and battles had already been fought 
across the ocean with British soldiers, since it was 
now late July of the year 1775. 

Yet the newspapers found space to print accounts 
of Cook’s great discoveries and of his adventures 
among all sorts of people, even cannibals; of the 
coco trees, the spices, the rare plants, and the 
strange animals he had found in hitherto unknown 
places; of his judgment in regard to an unknown 
continent among the icebergs. Moreover, congratu¬ 
lations poured in upon him from all directions for 
his remarkable success in fighting against scurvy. 
People felt that this merited as great praise as his 
discoveries in other lands. 

As it happened, however, his Journal and the 
charts and maps he had made with such care were 
not published till they had been submitted to King 
George and the Lords of the Admiralty. 

190 


The Homecoming 


He must have felt pride at the great honor shown 
him when he was summoned to St. James’s Palace 
where the King and his nobles awaited his coming. 
There he spoke simply, directly as ever, when he 
talked of what he had accomplished, referring 
lightly as usual, to the dangers he had encountered. 

When he had finished his story, he received the 
reward he had long coveted—the title of Post-Cap¬ 
tain. 

With this came an appointment as a captain of 
Greenwich Hospital which made him sure of a 
goodly income for the rest of his life. 

Not only in his homeland was he now famous. 
Other countries of Europe were sounding the praises 
of this Englishman who had sailed a second time 
around the world, had charted new lands, and voy¬ 
aged farther south than any one before him. All 
nations pronounced him a mighty hero. 

Soon after his return to London he received a visit 
from Captain Furneaux who had reached England 
several months before. 

The Endeavor, Furneaux said, had encountered 
many storms, but had finished the voyage in safety. 
He told all he could of the horrible happening at 
New Zealand, of which Cook had first heard at the 
Cape of Good Hope. 

“I believe some sudden quarrel must have arisen 
there between the natives and my men who were 
murdered.” In such wise he spoke of the disaster. 

191 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


He went on to say that the white men who were mas¬ 
sacred must have been unwise in letting the quarrel 
arise. 

Do you remember that Omai had left his island 
home to share Captain Furneaux’s adventures which, 
it should be said, he entered into heartily? You may 
smile when you hear that much attention was paid 
him in London society. He was entertained like a 
prince, feasted to his stomach’s content, loaded with 
gifts, and in fact, was quite spoiled, as we shall see 
later. 

Little time passed before one honor after another 
had been bestowed on Cook. Not one of these 
could have filled him with greater joy than his being 
elected a fellow of the Royal Society. 

The day after his admission was a notable one. 
He was now a tall impressive man of nearly forty- 
eight years, with hair drawn back from his wide 
forehead and tied at the back, dark piercing eyes, 
and determined chin. Erect and dignified, he took 
his place before his distinguished fellow members 
and read the paper he had carefully prepared, ex¬ 
plaining how sailors could be kept in good health 
on a long voyage. 

He told how his own men had, through his watch¬ 
fulness, been kept free from scurvy during the years 
they had sailed with him in different climes, subject 
to hardships from both heat and cold. 

“James Cook has accomplished wonders,” agreed 
those learned men who listened to his words. They 

192 




The Homecoming 


felt that there was no greater achievement in the 
world than in saving the lives of human beings, and 
decided that Cook should be awarded the gold 
medal of the Royal Society for the best experimen¬ 
tal work of the year. But when this award was 
made later on he was too far away to receive it in 
person so that his proud and devoted wife, Eliza¬ 
beth, was named to appear in his place. On her the 
precious medal was therefore bestowed in the midst 
of the deafening acclaim of the onlookers. 

Now let us see why Cook was not present on the 
great day. Directly after his return to London he 
had been appointed one of the captains at Green¬ 
wich Hospital, as we already know. A life of ease 
and comfort would be assured for him and his fam¬ 
ily. After sailing the seas for thirty-four years and 
with the hardships he had undergone, it might seem 
as if he would enjoy an easy life on land and Eliza¬ 
beth, doubtless, looked forward to the thought of 
it with her husband at her side. 

But there was much talk at the time of a possible 
adventure never yet undertaken by any human being. 

“Captain Cook has proved for us that there is no 
continent in the far south,” wise men agreed. “At 
least, if there is such, it is imbedded in ice and would 
be of no use to man.” 

So they turned their thoughts to something that 
had been discussed for at least two hundred years. 
It was in regard to a possible northwest passage. 

In other words, the people of Europe were eager 

193 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


to learn of a way of going to the rich countries of 
India and China without sailing on a long voyage 
around the Cape of Good Hope. Might it not be 
possible, they wondered, to sail straight across the 
Atlantic, then through the waters along the northern 
shores of North America and afterwards, passing 
through Behring Strait, reach Asia. 

Thoughtful men asked this question over and over 
again. At one time Parliament declared that the 
amount of £20,000 should be given the owners of any 
merchant ship or the captain and his men of a ship 
in the Royal Navy who should discover the desired 
Northwest Passage. 

Again and again brave explorers had striven to 
reach the goal, only to meet with death or disaster. 
Every one who survived told the same story: vast ice 
packs had been encountered in the north even in the 
Arctic summer, and ships caught between these had 
been crushed into fragments. Sometimes, indeed, 
no one on board survived to carry the tale back to 
the homeland. 

When Cook returned from his second voyage, he 
heard much talk about sending another expedition to 
find the Northwest Passage, but to be different from 
any that had gone before it. 

Instead of sailing around the northern part of the 
American Continent, wise men were asking, “Might 
it not be better for the explorers to sail from west 
to east? In other words, why should not the voyage 
be made from the Pacific to the Atlantic?” 

194 




The Homecoming 


Who was best fitted to conduct such an expedi¬ 
tion? That was the next point to be settled. 

“Captain James Cook,” was the general answer. 

“But he has returned so lately from a three years’ 
voyage, it is not right to ask him,” agreed the Lords 
of the Admiralty. “He deserves to enjoy the easy 
position of captain at Greenwich Hospital, that has 
lately been bestowed on him. 

So matters stood when one day in February, Cook 
received an invitation to dine at Lord Sandwich’s 
mansion. His old friend, Sir Hugh Palliser, was 
to be there, with another valuable friend, Mr. 
Stephens. 

As the gentlemen sat at dinner, the talk turned 
to the much discussed Northwest Passage. 

“But who is capable of commanding this danger¬ 
ous expedition?” said Lord Sandwich, turning to 
Mr. Stephens. 

At the words Cook sprang up from his seat and 
cried out, “I will go.” 

It was just what Lord Sandwich had hoped for. 

If the Captain had had pleasant dreams of a quiet 
peaceful life henceforth in the society of the most 
learned in the land, with a generous income and a 
happy home life, they had evidently vanished. He, 
who had lived on excitement ever since the days when 
he was a poor unknown lad selling groceries in little 
Staithes, to be content to spend the rest of his life 
quietly even in palatial quarters at the great Hos¬ 
pital! It was unthinkable. 

195 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


And so, when the opportunity appeared for fresh 
adventure and added fame, he did not hesitate to 
say, “I will go.” 

He begged his friends, however, not to let his wife 
learn of this promise as long as possible. She, dear 
loving soul, was looking forward to happy years 
with the man she loved at her side. Three of her 
children had died while their father was away on 
the seas. In a short time another little one was to 
enter the home and she joyfully believed that her 
husband would be with her to greet his first smile 
and hear his first baby words. It is not strange that 
Cook wished to keep her from learning about the 
coming voyage as long as he could, though from the 
day he made that promise to Lord Sandwich he was 
busy preparing for it. 

“The Resolution that has served me so faithfully 
already shall bear me on the coming expedition,” he 
decided. 

Another vessel, a small one, was to accompany it. 
This was the Discovery, for whose commander Cook 
chose Captain Clerke who had been his faithful lieu¬ 
tenant during the previous voyage. Many of the 
officers and sailors who had been with Cook before 
begged to go with him. They were ready to court 
danger again so long as they might do so under the 
command of a leader so just and wise, and he was 
glad to accept their services. 

Lord Sandwich himself gave close attention to the 
fitting out of the ship. Not only the best food pos- 

196 




The Homecoming 


sible was stored on board, but whatever Cook had 
found would be helpful in keeping off an attack of 
scurvy. 

Two cows and their calves, a bull and a few sheep 
were also placed in the vessels to be carried to 
islands in the South Seas where they might multiply. 
A goodly supply of seeds was added to the stores for 
planting and enriching the lands Cook planned to 
visit. 

The day came all too soon for the still lovely 
Elizabeth to say good-by to her brave husband. He 
must have been sad at heart as well as she, but the 
thought of what he hoped to achieve for the glory 
of his country buoyed him up. 

The twelfth day of July, 1776, found the two 
ships, the Resolution and the Discovery, leaving 
English shores behind them bound on a tremendous 
adventure. Was there any foreboding in Cook’s 
mind, we wonder, that he was never to set foot on 
his native land again, nor clasp his wife and children 
in his arms once more? 

He had received careful orders as to the course 
he should follow. He was to make his way south¬ 
ward, round the Cape of Good Hope, and sail on 
to New Zealand and Otaheite. Omai, who was to 
go with him from England, was to be left with his 
own people. 

After that, Cook was to make his way into the 
northern Pacific and then along the American coast 
till he reached Behring Strait where his search must 

197 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


begin for the much-talked-of Northwest Passage. 

A big undertaking, that? Yes, but a glorious one 
to Captain Cook’s thinking. 

In the beginning he had planned not to stop till 
he reached the Cape of Good Hope. Nevertheless, 
when he neared the lovely Canary Islands, he 
changed his mind. 

“We will make a short stay at Teneriffe,” he de¬ 
cided. “There we can get some fresh supplies for 
the men and some hay for the cattle and sheep. 

Accordingly, both the Resolution and the Discov¬ 
ery put in at the lovely island of Teneriffe where 
the wished-for supplies were obtained without 
trouble. 

Then on sailed the two ships which somehow lost 
sight of each other before the Cape of Good Hope 
was reached. 

There, at Table Bay, the Resolution came to 
anchor, and Cook was heartily welcomed by the 
Dutch governor who had been so kind to him during 
his previous visit. 

He was disappointed and troubled on learning 
that the Discovery had not arrived before him, nor 
had been heard of. He was all the more worried 
because of a recent storm and violent winds that 
made the ships anchored in Table Bay rock and toss 
about so badly that their anchors would not hold, 
and many of them were cast up on the shore, com¬ 
pletely wrecked. 

198 





The Homecoming 

This had happened after his arrival, and the 
Resolution suffered with the rest of the vessels. 
Water flooded not only the decks, but the sleeping 
quarters of the officers and sailors. Drenched beds 
and hammocks were the common lot and, altogether, 
great damage was wrought. 

“Was the Discovery out at sea and in all likeli¬ 
hood destroyed in the storm?” Cook wondered. 
Three anxious weeks passed before his mind was 
relieved when at last the sister ship appeared, safe 
and sound, after being held back in her course by 
the violence of the wind. 

After nearly three more weeks, both the Resolu¬ 
tion and the Discovery had been put into good shape 
for further voyaging, a fresh supply of provisions 
had been stored on board, and Cook declared every¬ 
thing ready for the start. 

On the way south to the Cape, the explorers had 
crossed the equator and suffered from the heat. 
From this and the dampness caused by heavy rains 
some of the sailors had become ill. But Cook had 
tended them carefully, and they had recovered. 

Now, as they left the Cape behind them, they en¬ 
countered rough weather and severe cold on their 
way to New Zealand, and had to be watched with 
equal care. The animals on board suffered most, 
and some of the poor creatures died. 

Six days after the explorers had left Africa, six 
islands, which two Frenchmen had discovered a few 

199 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


years before, came into view. They proved to be 
so barren, with not a tree in sight nor even a blade 
of grass, that no human being could have made a 
home there. 

“We must have a look-out for Kerguelen Land,” 
Cook said after leaving these islands behind him, 
knowing that a Frenchman had discovered this large 
island, but had not marked its exact place on the 
map. 

It was not easy now for the Resolution and Dis¬ 
covery to keep in sight of each other because of thick 
fog closing in around them. Guns had to be fired off 
frequently to let the men on one ship know how near 
was the other. 

Then came the day before Christmas, when the 
fog began to lighten and Cook found he was near¬ 
ing some small rocky islands. 

Soon after passing these he reached Kerguelen’s 
Land for which he had been on the watch for a long 
time. Bleak and dismal it proved to be. Neverthe¬ 
less, the commander gave the order to anchor off 
shore in a small harbor to which he gave the name, 
Christmas, because that great holiday of the year 
had now arrived. 

“My men shall not be obliged to do any work on 
this day,” Cook declared. 

Accordingly, all who wished to do so landed and 
proceeded to explore the country. They found no 
people living there, though countless seals, amusing 
penguins and other sea birds were seen along the 

200 





The Homecoming 


shores. The seals were so tame that numbers of 
them were easily killed. 

“The young ones are not at all bad eating,” 
agreed the company who had had many a meal of 
boiled seal meat down in the Antarctic. The older 
seals, as they also knew, were valuable for the oil 
obtained from them. 

Before the day ended, some of the explorers had 
ventured inland, but they met with no cheering sight 
to make the day a joyful one. No trees, no grassy 
fields, were visible—it was a barren land indeed. 
There were moments of pleasurable excitement, 
however, when one of the men made a discovery: he 
found a bottle fastened by stout wire to a rock near 
the shore. 

“How had it come to be there in that desolate 
place?” he wondered as he hastened to carry it to 
Cook who also wondered till he had opened the 
bottle and found it contained a parchment on which 
some words in a foreign language were written. 

The mystery was solved when the words had been 
deciphered: a French explorer had been on the island 
three years before and on going away he had left 
this message for any white men who should come 
after him. 

“I will add my story to his,” Cook said to him¬ 
self. He therefore wrote on the back of the parch¬ 
ment about his own visit now, in December, 1776. 
Then, putting it back in the bottle, he also inserted 
a silver piece of money minted in England the year 

201 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


before. After that he closed the opening tightly 
with lead. 

“To-morrow we will build a cairn out of stones on 
top of yonder hill,” he directed his men. “The bottle 
shall be placed there, together with the flag of our 
country,” he said further, “and be in plain sight of 
any other explorers coming after me.” 





CHAPTER XXII 
Queer People 

D AY after day a dense fog continued while the 
two ships went on their eastward way after 
leaving Kerguelen Land. It was an extremely 
dense fog, making the world seem unreal to the voy¬ 
agers. Then suddenly the sun shone out in all his 
glory, revealing a large island ahead. It was Van 
Dieman’s Land, so named by its Dutch discoverer, 
but known to us to-day as Tasmania. 

Trees grew there and abundant grass, as Cook 
happily found after anchoring in Adventure Bay. 
And there were human beings too, but with little more 
intelligence than that of animals. These savages 
were utterly naked and their only homes were among 
the branches of trees. Their skins, black as ebony, 
were plastered with red grease. They sometimes 
amused themselves by throwing sticks at a wooden 
mark set in the ground. 

Omai was disgusted at their stupidity. 

“I’ll let them see how powerful we are,” he 
thought. 

Accordingly he took a gun and fired it at the mark, 
hitting it exactly. 

At that the savages were filled with such terror 

203 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


that they fled from the white men, and not till the 
next day did any of them come near the visitors 
again. 

Cook judged rightly how to win their friendship, 
by offering them some trinkets which they received 
with delight. 

After obtaining a supply of wood and plenty of 
fodder for the animals on board ship, the captain 
gave the order to sail. All his company must have 
been glad because they were going next to New 
Zealand where they expected to find good weather, 
and fresh fruit and vegetables for their table. 

It was almost the middle of February before they 
entered Queen Charlotte Sound. The canoes of the 
Maoris came flocking around the ships, but not one 
of the occupants would come on board. Full well 
they remembered the murder of the men from Cap* 
tain Furneaux’s ship. 

“Will the great chief who showed himself our 
friend before, wreak vengeance upon us now for 
killing some of his people?” they asked themselves. 
Cook, however, soon made them understand that he 
did not intend to punish them for past wrongdoing. 
At the same time he intended to find out all he could 
about the murder and how much the natives were to 
blame. 

“Though I’ll treat them well,” he said to himself, 
“I’ll take care that we do not get in their power.” 

For this reason all in the company were directed 

204 




Queer People 


to carry arms on going ashore. They must be on 
guard every minute, he insisted. 

After a while he was able, through Omai’s help, 
to learn what he wished. This was the tale: while 
the visitors from the Adventure sat eating their 
lunch in a rather lonely spot, some of the natives 
crept up and stole a portion of the food. There¬ 
upon the sailors set to and beat them. 

The savages shouted for help, and a goodly 
number of their people speedily arrived. A fight 
followed in which every one of that company of 
white men was killed. 

Cook learned further that a certain chief whom 
he had already met was the one who had killed the 
officer in command of the party. 

“Why do you not put that chief to death?” de¬ 
manded Omai who was amazed and indignant that 
the captain had not done so after the man had 
admitted the crime. He went on to remind Cook: 
“In your own country, England, a murderer is 
hanged, and this is just.” 

Cook answered, “I have promised the chief not 
to harm him if he tells the truth,” and explained 
further that he believed the man when he said he 
had killed the officer in defending himself. At the 
same time, believing that “Discretion is the better 
part of valor,” he used every precaution for the 
safety of his men and himself whenever they were 
on land. For instance, when they went ashore to 
cut grass for the live stock on board ship, he took 

205 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


ca 


care that all in the party carried weapons of defense 
in case of sudden attack by the natives. 

Before Cook gave the order to sail he examined 
the gardens he had planted during his last visit, 
and found cabbages, radishes, onions, and other 
vegetables growing well. He was told that the 
pigs and fowls he had left were said to be running 
wild in the country, but he did not see them. 

“I would like to leave more of my pigs and fowls 
here,” he thought, “and also some cows. If they 
multiply, they will be of much service to the natives.” 

This he did, giving the creatures into the care of 
some chiefs who promised to look after them. 

Now since it was intended that Omai was to be 
left at Tahiti later on, he begged Cook to let him 
take a certain chief’s young son to be his companion 
the rest of the way there and since the chief was 
willing the captain granted his wish. The youth 
who was chosen now declared that he must take a 
servant to wait upon him, a certain ten-year-old boy. 

With these additions to the company, the Dis¬ 
covery and Resolution bade good-by to New Zea¬ 
land, and were soon heading into the northeast in 
search of new lands to claim for England as they 
went on their way to Tahiti. 

The water shortly became rough and the two 
youthful New Zealanders began to suffer great dis¬ 
tress. The poor creatures were seasick, and 
wretched in mind as well as body. 

Cook wrote of them: “They wept both in publick 

206 




Queer People 


and in private, and made their lamentations in a 
kind of song which, so far as we could understand 
it, was in praise of their country and people they 
should never see more.” 

Day after day the air was filled with their wailing 
till at last they recovered from seasickness. There¬ 
upon they became the captain’s merry and devoted 
companions. 

For nearly five weeks the explorers sailed on with 
never a glimpse of land. Then, to their joy, a 
verdant island came into view, with many groves of 
breadfruit and cocoanut palms. People were seen 
to be living there and at sight of the Resolution, 
they sprang into their canoes and paddled out to the 
ship. With Omai’s help, Cook talked with them, 
but as there was no harbor in sight, he ordered his 
men to continue the voyage. 

Two days afterwards he sighted another small 
island, and sent some of the men ashore to trade 
with the friendly natives. 

“We call our home Wateea,” they told their 
white visitors. 

They seemed quite ready to trade, quickly loading 
a canoe with plantains, cocoanuts, and a pig, and 
paddled out to the Resolution where Cook stood 
ready to receive them. 

They did not seem satisfied with the articles he 
offered them in exchange, however. 

“What is the reason ?” he wondered. It was some 
time before he learned that they wanted one of the 

207 



The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


dogs they saw on the ship. At last Omai, to satisfy 
them, unselfishly parted with his own dog which he 
had brought from England and of which he had 
grown very fond. 

These islanders had never before seen white 
people, yet they did not seem to fear them. But 
when their eyes fell upon the cows and horses on 
board the ship they drew back in terror. And, then, 
when they came to the goats and sheep, they asked 
in wonder and astonishment, “Are they strange 
birds?” 

These savages proved to be so thievish that the 
explorers who went ashore had to watch every 
moment lest articles be stolen from them. 

“They might do us harm in order to rob us more 
easily.” So the visitors realized as they noticed how 
closely they were watched. But here Omai did his 
white friends a good turn by telling the natives mar¬ 
velous stories of the Englishmen in their own 
country, and of their terrible weapons. To give an 
idea of their power, he set fire to some gunpowder. 
The noise of the explosion forthwith scared the 
savages so much that they showed no further wish 
to hold the white men back. 

Cook made his next stop at a small island near 
Wateea, but no people appeared. 

After having some cocoanuts and fodder gathered 
for the animals, he went on his way. But first he 
had an ax and some nails left there in plain sight. 

208 




Queer People 


“These will pay the natives, if there are any 
there,” he said, “for what we have taken.” 

Soon afterwards he reached the Hervey Islands 
which had been visited by him on his previous voy¬ 
age in the South Seas. Finding barbarous savages 
living there now, he sailed on after managing to 
do a little trading with them. 

The stores were by this time so low that he was 
eager to reach Palmerston Island as soon as possible 
because he hoped to get abundant supplies of fresh 
food there. Beautiful as ever it seemed with its 
low coral reefs surrounding the loveliest of lagoons. 
In its waters, clear as crystal, swam fishes of brilliant 
hues and varied shapes, while a bed of coral on the 
shore glowed in the sunlight, showing marvelous 
formations and coloring. 

God’s workmanship on this lovely island filled 
Cook with awe. 

“It is a pity,” he felt, “that such a feast of beauty 
is displayed where few human beings can enjoy it.” 

No people were living on the island. The ex¬ 
plorers, without trouble, gathered fodder for the 
live stock, caught fish, and killed birds for their own 
eating. Then on sailed the ships, heading westward 
for the Friendly Islands where they came to anchor 
on May Day in the harbor of Annamooka. 

“It is now so late in the season,” reflected Cook, 
“that it will be useless to seek for the Northwest 
Passage till after the opening of next year. I will, 

209 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 

therefore, stay in this neighborhood for some time, 
exploring the large group of islands hereabouts. 

So the explorers settled down for a comfortable 
visit at iVnnamooka where the natives were friendly, 
though very thievish. After a while they became so 
bold that Cook lost patience, and when he discovered 
that one of the chiefs had been stealing he ordered 
him to be lashed and then confined till he had a pig 
brought to the white men to pay for his misdoing. 

That settled the trouble so far as the chiefs were 
concerned. They themselves no longer stole but 
had their servants steal for them. The thieving 
continued, therefore, till a new way of punishment 
w r as thought of. All who were discovered stealing 
were forced to have their heads shaved by the ex¬ 
plorers’ barber. This marked them among their 
people who shamed them by their ridicule. More¬ 
over, they were not allowed to board the ships, nor 
even to come near the tents the white men had set 
up on the shore. Naturally, the islanders stopped 
stealing. 

You would have witnessed an amusing sight one 
day if you had been with Cook during his stay at 
Annamooka. It was that of a hut being carried on 
the shoulders of a chief’s servants. He had become 
so fond of Cook that he insisted on having his hut 
brought close to the captain’s tent, and there he 
spent each night, happy in his nearness to the great 
white chief with his keen eyes and commanding ways. 

“You should visit other places near us.” So 

210 





Queer People 


Feenough, another chief, advised Cook. “You can 
get abundant supplies there.” 

Consequently, the Resolution and Discovery set 
sail once more and soon arrived at an island where 
the explorers were royally received by the natives 
to whom the white men seemed wonderful beings. 
Canoes laden with fruit, fowls, pigs, and edible roots 
surrounded the ship and Cook was delighted to take 
such valuable provisions in trade. 

Afterwards, when the company had landed, the 
head chief of the islands, who had his home there, 
held a festival in honor of his white guests. Music 
was played on queer instruments; dances were per¬ 
formed; and there were boxing and wrestling 
matches. 

Cook wrote in his Journal, “These several con¬ 
tests were carried on in the midst of at least three 
thousand people, and with the greatest good humor 
on all sides, though some, women as well as men, 
have received blows they must feel some time after.” 

The most surprising part of the entertainment 
consisted of a boxing match between women. Cook 
wrote that they used as much art as the men and 
that they were applauded as loudly as the men, too. 

The best part of the festival for the visitors must 
have been what came first; great piles of bread¬ 
fruit, yams, cocoanuts, sugar cane, and plantain were 
presented to Cook and Omai, besides pigs, fowls and 
turkeys. Of course, the whole companv would after¬ 
wards feast on these good things. 

211 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


“I must do something in return for such enter¬ 
tainment,” decided Cook. Accordingly, he ordered 
his men to make a display of fireworks. These de¬ 
lighted and astonished the natives to whom the 
rockets especially must have seemed magical. 

Cook was himself astonished later at seeing the 
well-kept gardens of the natives and the fine fiber 
cloth woven by the women. The people of the 
Friendly Islands showed a greater love of work 
and good order, in his opinion, than in most places 
he had visited in the Pacific. 

The explorers had so much pleasure during their 
stay that they felt sorry to go away when the time 
came to say good-by. 




CHAPTER XXIII 
Farewell to Omai 

I T was midsummer when the ships put out to sea, 
leaving the Friendly Islands farther and farther 
behind them. At first all went well. Then a heavy 
squall suddenly arose and both the Resolution and 
Discovery suffered injury before it had passed. 
They were able to keep safely on their way, how¬ 
ever, till Tahiti came into sight on the twelfth of 
August. Early next morning the ships anchored in 
the harbor and the explorers landed to receive a 
hearty welcome from the natives. 

You will remember that Tahiti was Omai’s home 
but, strange to say, few of his relatives and old 
acquaintances paid him any attention on his return, 
except his sister who hastened to greet him and 
throw her arms around him affectionately, while one 
of his aunts cast herself at his feet, weeping with 
joy. 

But when Omai brought out some red feathers 
and showed them to those of his countrymen who 
had come on board, what a change in their manner 
there was at once! No indifference now over his 
return! Oh, no! All at once they seemed to care 

213 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


for him greatly, simply because they were eager to 
own some of those feathers. 

Once the explorers had landed, there was plenty 
of work for them to do. Besides trading with the 
natives for fruit and hogs, they brought the cattle 
ashore to graze and exercise their legs; they repaired 
the ships; they overhauled the provisions. 

As for the trading, Cook tells us that at first a few 
feathers “not more than might be got from a tomtit, 
would purchase a hog of 40 or 50 pounds weight.” 

During the short stay at Tahiti Cook was told 
that two Spanish ships had stopped there and left 
some cattle on the island. 

“Do not let any Englishmen land here,” their 
captain had told the natives. 

Furthermore, he had set up a cross telling of his 
coming in the year 1774, and claiming the country 
in the name of his king. 

When Cook saw this, he had his own visits in 
still earlier times, and now in this year 1777, 
carved on the other side of the cross, at the same 
time claiming the island in the name of George III 
of England. 

August had nearly ended when the Resolution and 
the Discovery left Tahiti and sailed for the near-by 
island of Matavai. Old friends there greeted Cook 
heartily, among them being King Otoo and some of 
the leading chiefs who must have been delighted 
when Cook decided to leave in their keeping nearly 

214 




Farewell to Omai 


all the live stock he had brought with him from the 
Cape of Good Hope. 

“It has been hard work to provide proper food 
for the animals during the past months,” he thought. 
“And this is an excellent place in which to leave 
them. I trust they will be cared for and will multi¬ 
ply.” During his stay Cook and Clerke gave what 
proved to be a remarkable exhibition to the natives 
by taking a long ride on horses they had brought on 
the ships. The people were filled with wonder and 
astonishment at the sight. 

And then King Otoo gave an entertainment for 
his white visitors. Some of those who took part 
acted out little plays; still others danced with real 
grace. 

“I will show my pleasure by a display of fire¬ 
works,” decided Cook. But lo! the dark-skinned 
onlookers were filled with fear at the dazzling sight. 

“This is magic,” they thought, and fled in all 
directions. 

During Cook’s stay the natives became much 
excited over a war that broke out between their own 
island and that of Emeo which was near by. 

“You are mighty. Help us,” so the leading 
chiefs begged the captain. 

But he replied, “No. The people of Emeo have 
done me no harm, and it would not be just for me 
to fight against them.” 

Before the war canoes left Tahiti he witnessed a 
horrible ceremony. The natives had agreed that aid 

215 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


must be besought of one of the most powerful gods, 
and to gain this they must offer up a human sacrifice 
to him. 

Who should be chosen for the sacrifice? A cer¬ 
tain man of low family was decided upon and killed, 
and his body was given into the hands of the priests. 
Then, before the company gathered for the cere¬ 
mony, they cut up the man’s head in the most shock¬ 
ing manner. 

Cook and his companions were horrified at what 
they beheld, and when they learned afterwards that 
such sacrifices were often made in the Society Islands, 
they were all the more shocked. One thing only 
made the custom seem a little less terrible when it 
was afterwards learned that the victim was gener¬ 
ally one who had committed some very wicked deed. 

During his stay at Tahiti the captain became so 
ill with sciatica that he could not leave the ship. 
Word soon spread among the islanders that the 
great chief was suffering acutely. 

“We will cure him,” agreed about a dozen 
women, among whom were Otoo’s mother and sev¬ 
eral of his sisters. 

They were accordingly paddled out to the ship 
where they greeted Cook lovingly and insisted that 
he should let them drive away his pain. As we 
know, he had never felt fear when in a tempest or 
in the midst of any other danger that had hitherto 
beset him. But the idea of those twelve women 
massaging him in the rough way known to their 

216 





Farewell to Omai 


people struck terror to his heart. Nevertheless he 
gave himself into their hands, and they forthwith 
rubbed and pounded him till he felt as if his every 
bone had been broken and his body had become like 
that of a jellyfish. 

But afterwards? The pain from which he had 
suffered for days was so much less that he was glad 
to have the treatment repeated that night and the 
following day, after which he felt as well as ever. 

“Blessed are the women of this island,” he may 
well have said. 

From Tahiti the ships sailed to Emeo whose 
natives had now ended the fight with their neighbors. 
They were not as kindly to the white men as the 
Tahitians, and troubles soon arose which roused 
Cook’s anger. 

To begin with, the islanders stole a goat that had 
been carried on land to graze. After some difficulty 
Cook had this returned. But that same day another 
goat was stolen and this made the captain lose his 
temper completely. 

“Return the goat,” he demanded of the islanders, 
to which command one and all gave the same 
answer, “We know nothing about the goat.” 

At that he became so angry that he tramped with 
a company across the island and had six or more of 
the natives’ houses burned to the ground as well as 
several war canoes that were drawn up on the shore 
close by. 

“This done,” he recorded in his Journal, “I 

217 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


marched off to join the boats which were about seven 
or eight miles from us and on our way we burned 
six more war canoes.” 

But he was still so angry that he burned other 
war canoes. “I’ll not leave a single canoe on the 
island,” he told the people, “unless the goat is 
brought back to me.” 

That evening the missing animal was returned, 
and Cook wrote, “Thus ended this troublesome and 
rather unfortunate business which could not be more 
regretted on the part of the natives than it was on 
mine.” 

But the worst has not yet been told of Cook’s 
punishments for wrongdoing. Again and again he 
was afterwards angered by the native of a certain 
island, who had stolen repeatedly and done several 
very wicked deeds besides. So the captain finally 
gave a cruel order in this wise: “Shave the wicked 
fellow’s hair and then cut off his ears.” 

After this had been done he was grieved at the 
cruelty he had shown, and wrote in his Journal that 
since he found the native was “a hardened scoundrel, 
I punished him with greater severity than I had ever 
done anyone before, and then dismissed him.” 

It should be said right here that he was half sick 
at the time, and that though he had a quick temper, 
he had seldom let it get the better of him before. 

After spending eleven unpleasant days at Emeo, 
the explorers sailed to the not distant island of 
Huaheine where Omai had decided he wished to live 

218 




Farewell to Omai 


since Cook had no intention of carrying him back to 
England. He had some relatives at Huaheine so 
he had no need to feel lonely there. 

Cook had grown really fond of him and could 
not forget how much he had aided him in talking 
and dealing with the people of the different islands 
he had visited. 

“I will do all I can to help him get comfortably 
settled,” Cook promised himself. 

So he obtained some land for Omai from the 
natives and on this he had a little house built by 
the carpenters of his ship. Then, too, he gave Omai 
some domestic animals for his very own and had a 
garden dug for him in which seeds of various kinds 
were planted at once. 

But the captain’s kindness did not end there. He 
put in Omai’s keeping the two boys he had brought 
with him from New Zealand, to be his servants. 

Can you guess how Omai lived after his white 
friends left him? He went back to the ways of his 
people. Wearing no longer the clothing worn by 
white men, he dressed scantily since in fact he needed 
little raiment in that warm climate. But unfor¬ 
tunately, he had been so spoiled by the petting he 
had received in England, that he was overbearing 
and often cruel to the islanders around him. 

It has even been said that he sometimes used the 
musket given him by his English friends in shooting 
at his fellows simply to see how far his bullets would 
travel. Cruel sport, indeed! And strange to say, 

219 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


he had always been faithful and good-natured on 
shipboard. 

But let us return to the day early in November 
when he had to say good-by to his English friends. 

“I may never see them again,” he must have 
thought. His eyes were already dim from the tears 
that could not be held back when he turned to Cook. 
Then he began to sob as he looked for the last time 
at the face of this good friend. 

The leading natives of the island also said good- 
by to “Toote” as they called Cook, with much 
regret. They admired him as a just man and wise 
commander, though he had shown himself severe 
at times. 

From Huaheine Cook and his company sailed to 
Ulietea, another of the Society Islands, and spent 
five weeks in that beautiful spot. It proved to be 
so attractive that three sailors deserted the ships, 
intending to spend the rest of their lives there. 

“It would make it bad for me if there were still 
other deserters,” thought Cook. “I must conse¬ 
quently make an example of these men.” 

Accordingly, he went about at once to gain the 
help of the natives in securing the sailors. The 
Chief Orea with his daughter, his son, and his son- 
in-law, had happened to come on board ship in 
friendly fashion. 

“You must stay here as my prisoners,” Cook told 
him, “till those sailors are brought back.” 

He went on to tell Orea that this was only just 

220 




Farewell to Omai 


because the chief had helped the white men escape 
to another island. 

“He means what he says,” decided Orea in dis¬ 
tress. So you may well believe he gave orders, by 
reason of which the deserters were to be found and 
returned to their ship, and he would be set free in 
consequence. 

Of course the natives did not feel any too friendly 
to Cook at having imprisoned their chief though he 
was treated with every attention during his imprison¬ 
ment. So they made a plan to capture the captain 
while he was taking his daily bath in a little river 
on the island. He had usually gone alone to take 
this bath. But now that he held Orea and his family 
imprisoned, he was wise enough not to go to his bath 
without an armed guard. As it happened, fortunately 
for him he did not go to the river on the day the 
natives’ plan was to be carried out, and so escaped 
the threatened danger. 

After leaving Ulietea, Cook visited another island 
near by, where, as at other places, he left some of 
the domestic animals from the ships. 

As he sailed away pictures arose in his mind of 
the months he had spent among the islands of the 
South Seas. 

He thought sadly: “I have taught the natives 
what I could, but I wonder if I have really helped 
them. Would they not be better off if they had 
never heard of the comforts possessed by white 
men? Would they not be happier if they had been 

221 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


left in their ignorance, to follow their own ways?” 
Such were the questions he asked himself as he left 
the South Pacific behind him and made his way 
northward at first, then eastward toward the coast 
of North America. 

The explorers still had a good deal to make them 
comfortable as they went on their way. They had 
secured an abundant supply of yams and fruit, and 
also pork which they had salted down while at 
Tahiti. Then, too, they had a quantity of sauer¬ 
kraut which was now served twice a week to all on 
board, to keep them free from scurvy. Moreover, 
they were in good health, the greatest of all bless¬ 
ings, and being fond of adventure, they had the 
joyous hope of fresh discoveries. 

After they had sailed for many days a small island 
appeared ahead of the ships. 

“Will there be people there?” wondered Cook. 

When he had landed he found the only creatures 
that inhabited the place were large turtles, some of 
these weighing as much as one hundred pounds. 
“As good as any in the world,” so they were 
declared. 

The men easily caught about three hundred of 
these, and feasts followed of turtle soup and of 
fresh fish 'caught along the shore. These dainties 
made Christmas, which they celebrated in this lonely 
spot, a most enjoyable holiday. Quite naturally, 
therefore, Cook decided upon the name of Christ- 

222 




Farewell to Omai 


mas for the island, in honor of the festival held on 
shipboard. 

On forged the ship till the middle of January had 
been passed. Then three islands reaching high 
above the sea appeared, one after another. Beauti¬ 
ful they seemed to the white men, with their lovely 
fields and groves, and with flowers blooming even 
then in mid-winter. 

As the vessels neared the largest of these islands, 
Cook gave the order to anchor that he might explore 
the country. 

Curiously built canoes with outriggers were 
already moving out toward the ships. The men 
inside looked much like the Tahitians but their 
voices were softer. They were gentle in manner 
and seemed to look on the white men who had ap¬ 
peared in their strange white-sailed vessels as gods 
from another world. 

When Cook, with some of his company, had gone 
on shore the natives gathered about him, and bend¬ 
ing low to the ground hid their faces in reverence 
before the wonderful majestic being, as they re¬ 
garded him. They did not rise till he had signed 
to them to do so. 

Though these islanders were so humble, they soon 
showed that they were given to thieving. 

“This is wrong, very wrong,” Cook said to them 
severely. 

The sternness in his eyes and the frown on his 
forehead made them understand his words all the 

223 





The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


more readily. Besides, their language was much the 
same as that of the Tahitians, of which the captain 
had learned a good deal during his long visits among 
them. And being gentle and anxious to please him, 
they forthwith tried to be honest and fair in dealing 
with him, so that he was much pleased. 

“They heed me readily,” he thought, as he pro¬ 
ceeded to exchange nails which they wanted above all 
else he had to offer for a goodly supply of hogs, 
yams, and taro. 

During his stay at Atooi, as the natives called the 
island, he was much interested in the cloaks and 
helmets worn by the chiefs on state occasions. These 
were made entirely of red and white feathers that 
seemed priceless in the eyes of the natives. 

After a brief visit at Atooi, Cook went on to 
another island with a name still harder for us to 
pronounce; but to the natives the word seemed 
simple enough—Oneeheow. This, too, the explorers 
found pleasing and the people gentle and polite, 
though they were cannibals. 

Altogether, Cook visited five islands of the group, 
some of which may have been discovered by the 
Spaniards nearly a century before his coming. This 
seemed clear to him because the natives told him 
of the arrival of strange and powerful white beings 
in the long ago. 

As the captain considered the loveliness of the 
islands and the abundance there of growing things, 
he felt they deserved a distinguished name. Hence 

224 




Farewell to Omai 


he decided, “From now on, they shall be called the 
Sandwich Islands in honor of my patron, Lord Sand¬ 
wich, who has long been my friend.” 

By that name, consequently, they were to be 
known for more than one hundred years till at last 
they came to be owned by the United States and 
were renamed the Hawaiian Islands. 

The time arrived for departure. Henceforth the 
voyagers must be prepared to endure great hard¬ 
ship, but Cook, thinking little of himself, willingly 
shared with his crew the few comforts that were 
generally reserved for the officers of a ship. He 
even ate the fare of common sailors. 

Had he begun to have a foreboding of coming 
ill—not perhaps, in his search for the unknown 
passage in the north, but on his way to the homeland 
when he would stop at the balmy Hawaiian Islands 
for fresh supplies? We shall never know. 




CHAPTER XXIV 
A New People 

L AND at last!” So must the voyagers have 
j exclaimed in delight when they sighted New 
Albion, as Sir Francis Drake two centuries before 
had named that part of the Pacific coast of North 
America which we know to-day as Oregon. 

It was more than four weeks since Cook and his 
companions had bidden good-by to Hawaii, and 
March, bleak and dreary, had arrived to greet the 
travelers with cutting cold. 

Northward, and generally hugging the coast, the 
Resolution and the Discovery continued sailing, but 
slowly, very slowly, because strong winds were often 
blowing against them and thick fogs kept closing in. 
In over three weeks they sailed only three hundred 
miles. 

Then at last Cook said: “We had best find a 
good harbor in which we can overhaul the ships.” 

He had discovered that repairs were greatly 
needed because of the harm wrought by the storms 
that had been encountered; and every one must have 
rejoiced when Nootka Sound on the shores of Van¬ 
couver Island had been entered and the ships came 
to anchor in calm waters. 

226 


A New People 


But how desolate the country stretched before 
them seemed to the weary men! Snow covered the 
mountain tops; pine forests, dark and gloomy, grew 
near the shore, and the savages who greeted the 
white men were dirty, stupid-looking creatures. 
They showed no wish to harm the newcomers, how¬ 
ever, and were ready to give the furs of martens 
and wild cats, and bear and wolf skins in exchange 
for tools made of iron and copper, and to the amaze¬ 
ment of their visitors they also offered articles of 
clothing fashioned with remarkable skill out of the 
bark of trees. 

The savages proved to be thieves like the islanders 
of the Pacific and were shrewd enough to demand 
payment for the wood and water that were needed 
for the ships. 

Cook was obliged to remain four weeks among 
the natives at Nootka Sound before the ships had 
been fully repaired; but during the stay there he 
spent much of his time in exploring the country and 
getting acquainted with the savages. 

Wherever he went, he found them gentle in 
manner but filthy in their habits, while their small 
eyes, coarse black hair, and the paint with which 
they sought to decorate their dirt-covered bodies, 
made them unpleasant objects to look at. They 
doubtless belonged to the red race. 

By the end of the fourth week the ships were 
ready for further travel, but soon after they had 
started out, they ran into severe storms and a bad 

227 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


leak was discovered in the Resolution. It was only 
by hard steady work at the pumps that the sailors 
kept the water that rushed in from sinking the ship. 

“In these dangerous seas, it is not safe to venture 
close to shore.” In such wise, Cook spoke to his 
officers day after day till the month of May had 
arrived. 

Then calmer weather favored them and the cap¬ 
tain decided it was all right to sail nearer the land 
where a grandly beautiful sight soon greeted the 
eyes of the explorers. It was the lofty Mount St. 
Elias with its snow-capped summit nearly twenty 
thousand feet above the sea. 

A little north of this noble mountain Cook dis¬ 
covered a safe inlet which he named Prince William’s 
Sound, and there the ships anchored while the leak 
in the Resolution was being stopped. The natives 
of the place, who seemed friendly, were dirty crea¬ 
tures like those of Nootka Sound, but they were 
unlike them in many ways and they dressed in furs 
which they had obtained from seals and other 
animals. They were probably Eskimos because they 
had thick short bodies and yellowish skins. 

“Their canoes are different from any we have 
met before,” Cook noted. 

“And how well suited to their fishing trips in 
dangerous waters,” he must have thought as he saw 
that each boat was made of skins drawn lightly over 
a light wooden frame. There was an opening in 
the deck large enough for a man to insert his legs 

228 




A New People 

which he could then stretch out underneath, while 
holding the upper part of his body erect. 

No boats could have been better suited to the life 
of these people. They were so light that they could 
be easily carried from place to place on land, and 
at the same time they were safe on the roughest 
waters, where the men could paddle about with no 
fear as they hurled their spears into the bodies of 
the seals they were hunting. 

Cook and his companions must have been amused 
at the natives’ curious manner of trying to make 
themselves beautiful; they cut long gashes across 
their lower lips, and in these slits they commonly 
fastened bones, or perhaps shells. They also had 
holes bored through their noses, through which they 
stuck shells. 

The next stop for the ship after leaving Prince 
William’s Sound was in a bay to which the name of 
Cook’s Inlet was given. Then on and on into the 
north the ships were driven, often through dense 
fogs. The ears of the watchers had to be on the 
alert because at any moment the sound of mighty 
waves dashing against rocks might be heard. Then 
with all speed possible, the anchors had to be cast 
overboard, else destruction might come from strik¬ 
ing on an invisible reef. 

Farther and farther north the ships sailed 
throughout July, with one sad happening. The 
Resolution's surgeon, a fine young man named 

229 






The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


Anderson, died after having had trouble with his 
lungs for many months. 

In the various stops along the coast Cook met 
the natives of the country who often spoke of trad¬ 
ing with certain white men—Russians, these people 
called them—who had come there to purchase the 
furs and skins of wild animals. 

As usual, the captain spent much time in making 
charts of the coast, noting the islands and inlets he 
passed, giving names to capes and bays, and making 
calculations of the latitude and longitude in which 
he found himself. 

Before August opened, the ships had made their 
way through Behring Strait and entered the Arctic 
Ocean. At one point the Strait had become so 
narrow that the explorers could sight cn their left 
the eastern coast of Asia, while near at hand to 
their right stretched the shores of North America. 
Bleak and dreary was the view; biting cold was the 
wind; the fog-laden air sent a cutting chill through 
the men’s bodies; they suffered from need of more 
food than the fast lessening supply allowed; and 
soon after they entered the Arctic the sight of vast 
ice fields glistening in the sunlight dazzled their eyes. 

There was the same trying life day after day, 
save for the hours of sport which made the seamen 
for the time being as gay as care-free boys on a 
holiday. They hunted the walruses (sea horses as 
the explorers called them) that swam about in those 
freezing waters or sported on huge cakes of ice. 

230 





A New People 


The walruses were about as large as oxen. Their 
heads were small, with long sharp tusks reaching 
down from their upper jaws. Their strong fins made 
them able to move through the water with great 
speed when pursued by their worst enemy, the white 
bear. But woe to this fierce and powerful creature 
when a walrus turned suddenly to defend himself 
and drove his sharp tusks into the body of the bear. 

“How wise these sea horses are I” remarked the 
watchers on shipboard when they noted how the 
walruses protected themselves when napping on the 
ice floes. They had quickly discovered that a number 
of them were always gathered together with one on 
guard while the others slept.” 

“Let us kill some of the creatures and provide 
ourselves with meat,” proposed one of the men. 

It seemed a happy thought to the others, and 
boats were soon lowered to carry the hunters in 
search of their prey. Success did not meet them 
as easily as they might have expected. No matter 
how softly the boats moved, by the time the hunters 
neared a herd of walruses apparently sound asleep 
on a field of ice or on rocks along the shore, the 
creature on guard would discover their approach 
and give the alarm. It sounded somewhat like a 
dog’s bark, somewhat like the bellowing of an ox. 
On the instant, his fellows would begin to stretch 
and look around them, and before the hunters could 
draw near enough to work havoc, they would plunge 

231 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


from their icy camping ground into the deep waters 
below. 

In course of time the men gained skill, and in a 
single day they shot nine walruses and brought them 
to the ships where they were skinned, the fat cut up 
and placed in casks to furnish oil for their lamps, 
and the flesh prepared for eating. 

“Not so very appetizing!” decided most of the 
men when they had tasted the meat after it had been 
soaked in water and then boiled. 

“But at least,” agreed most of them, “it is better 
than the salt junk we have had to eat so long.” 

The middle of August had passed when the ships 
reached a point where their course was completely 
stopped by immense fields of ice. In vain could 
Cook find a passage through them, though he and 
Captain Clerke strove to do so for the next twelve 
days, pushing now this way, now that, in vain. 

“If the Arctic summer cannot melt the ice, these 
waters will never be free of it,” he decided at last. 
“Therefore it is useless for me to cherish any hope 
of discovering a safe passage from the Pacific 
through the Arctic into the Atlantic.” 

Bold and determined as he was, he must have 
been greatly disappointed. But he had something 
important to plan for at once: with summer’s 
passing, he must get back into safer warmer waters 
without delay. 

The order was accordingly given to retrace the 
course back to the Pacific. When the vessels were 

232 




A New People 


once clear of ice, and were sailing in and out among 
the islands near the Alaskan coast, the sailors were 
delighted at the discoveries made when they landed 
at one of these islands. They found mulberries and 
raspberries! Nectar and ambrosia could not have 
tickled their palates more, after their coarse and 
scanty diet of months. 

At one place in the voyage the water suddenly 
became quite shallow and muddy. “A large river 
flowing into the sea must cause this,” thought Cook. 

He was quite right. He was sailing past the 
mouth of the mighty Yukon River that was many 
years afterward the scene of the famous gold rush. 

At this island of Oonalashka, Cook had a pleasant 
surprise when a native of the place brought him and 
Clerke curious gifts: salmon pies made specially 
tasty with pepper, lined and covered with a crust 
made out of rye meal. And wonder of wonders I 
a letter written in an unknown language accorm 
panied each pie. 

“Who could have written these letters?” Cook 
wondered. “Russians, probably, since I have heard 
that Russian fur traders have made their way to 
this part of the world. I must find out who sent us 
these pies.” 

He accordingly sent a trustworthy young cor¬ 
poral in search of those who had sent the gifts. 

Four days passed before the young man returned 
to the ship. With him were three Russians who 
proved to be fur traders, and who invited Cook to 

233 



The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


visit their station which was close to a fine harbor 
not far away. A sizable vessel was stationed there 
ready for use. As the Resolution and the Discovery 
were both in need of repairs, the explorers spent a 
few days at Oonalashka. While there a feast was 
spread by the Russians in their honor, which was 
as merry as might be with the hosts and their guests 
unable to speak each other’s language. 




CHAPTER XXV 
The Bitter End 


I N case we get separated, let us agree to meet at 
the Sandwich Islands. There we had best 
spend the coming winter before continuing our voy- 
age 1” 

In such wise Cook spoke to Captain Clerke before 
the vessels left Oonalashka at the end of October 
to sail southward. 

A month passed by with little excitement. Then 
one bright day the longed-for islands came into view. 
Joy filled the hearts of all on board the Resolution, 
as they pictured the delights ahead of them. They 
had suffered more from hunger than ever before in 
their wanderings. The food had been scanty after 
walrus hunts had no longer been possible. 

“And now we can bask for months in the sunshine, 
have daily feasts among the gentle kindly natives, 
and live easy gay lives.” So dreamed the sailors, 
and, in fact, all Cook’s company, as they neared the 
shores of Mavi, one of the Hawaiian group they 
had not visited during their first visit. 

They spent a few days at this island where the 
natives were friendly and glad to trade with them. 
Then the order was given to sail on to another 

235 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


island of the group, larger than the rest, but not 
discovered by Cook till now. This was Owhyhee, as 
the natives called it, but known to us to-day as 
Hawaii. 

“How beautiful it is!” thought the watchers on 
deck. “And what a noble picture is made by the 
snow-topped mountain there reaching up toward 
the sky for many thousands of feet!” 

At first Cook did not find a suitable place in which 
to anchor. So the Resolution and Discovery cruised 
leisurely around the island for the next seven weeks 
while the brown-skinned natives frequently paddled 
out from shore, offering tender little pigs, fruit, and 
sugar cane to the white men. These natives were so 
trusting, so friendly; they did not seem to have 
the slightest fear of the explorers and visited the 
ships freely. Cook praised their good qualities 
highly in his Journal. 

The ships did not come to anchor for some time, 
but kept on cruising about till the captain discovered 
a good harbor off the southern shore of the island of 
Hawaii. There a glorious reception awaited him 
and his companions. No sooner were the vessels at 
rest than many hundreds of natives who had been 
watching from the shore leaped into their canoes 
and paddled out to welcome their guests. Still other 
hundreds, evidently as much at home in the water 
as on land, came swimming out to offer greeting, 
leaving a multitude of their fellows on land eagerly 
awaiting the arrival of the strangers. 

236 





The Bitter End 


Strangers, did I say? Not so did the people of 
Hawaii regard the visitors. 

“Lono, the swine god, who once lived here, has 
returned to us,” the simple islanders believed. 
Long, long ago, they also believed, he had gone 
away, after killing his wife in jealous anger and 
then becoming frenzied over his lost love. 

But before he departed, he promised to come back 
on an island with cocoanut trees standing upon it, 
and dogs, and swine. 

Surely then, they thought, Captain Cook, the tall, 
masterful man with searching eyes, must be Lono 
and the natives wished to do the god homage. His 
companions were wonderful, as well as he! Why! 
their heads were horned like the moon! (Very 
likely the covering worn by the sailors caused this 
notion.) More marvelous still, they held fires 
burning in their mouths! (Pipes, of course.) And 
then they actually took various articles out of their 
bodies. (Probably from their pockets, we may 
suppose.) 

The masts on the ships had been the first things 
to make the natives believe in Lono’s return, because 
in their fancy these were the tall cocoanut trees the 
god had said would be seen on the island on which 
he would return. 

Was it strange, therefore, that the simple natives 
had gathered from all parts of the island to welcome 
him? At least three thousand canoes had come out 
to the ships, and many thousands of people were 

237 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 

still on the shore ready to bow down before the 
great captain in reverence when he should land. In 
all his adventures he had never been received by 
such an immense crowd of islanders as now. 

At first the people bent low and covered their 
faces as he approached them. But it was tiresome 
work to keep doing this so they began to creep on 
all fours. A curious procession he now beheld, com¬ 
posed of thousands of men, women, and children, 
all in honor of a human being in many ways like 
themselves. 

It must have been hard for Cook to keep back a 
smile. 

However, he probably thought, “The natives’ 
belief that I am a powerful god will make it easier 
for me to get rich supplies for the ships and render 
my stay here a pleasant one.” 

One act of reverence followed another, after 
which Cook was taken to a sacred temple where, 
with much ceremony, a priest cast a red cloak over 
his shoulders as a token of his godhood, and he 
was then led to a seat where on either side stood 
hideous wooden idols. After that many festivities 
took place. There were parades, processions, and 
feasts, while gifts of pigs, fiber cloth, and vegetables 
were brought to the guest of honor. 

As the days passed, such lavish giving became 
rather hard on the islanders because their priests 
allowed them to receive nothing in return. Perhaps 
they were already grumbling when something hap- 

238 





The Bitter End 


pened that made them think the white men were 
not as wonderful beings as they had supposed. This 
was the death of an old marine who had served 
Cook a long time and who was buried on the shore, 
the captain himself reading the funeral service. 

“Is it possible for death to visit a companion of 
Lono?” So the natives asked themselves, and they 
began to doubt Cook’s power. 

Then came another happening that also disturbed 
them: he demanded the fence that surrounded their 
temple to be brought away because he wished it for 
firewood. Strange, indeed, it seemed that he could 
ask for what was sacred. But he was a god, the 
people still believed, so they felt they could not 
refuse him anything for which he asked. 

Before long, their king began to ask the white 
men when they planned to leave the island. He 
and the leading chiefs had become troubled and they 
desired the departure of the explorers. They wished 
this even more strongly after a quarrel had arisen 
between the natives and the white men concerning 
a rudder that had been brought ashore from the 
ship to be repaired. Before the quarrel ended the 
islanders threw sticks and stones at the Englishmen. 
Soon after this happened, Cook decided it would be 
sensible to leave and explore other islands in the 
group. 

He was still treated with a good deal of honor 
by the natives, and before sailing he was presented 
with many rich presents by the high priest—fine 

239 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


stuffs woven by the brown people, and quantities of 
provisions. In return, he treated the people to a 
display of fireworks. 

The fourth of February found the Resolution 
and the Discovery setting sail, with the islanders 
they left behind them pleased that the swine god 
Lono was to be no longer in their midst to be enter¬ 
tained and worshiped. 

But alas! the voyagers had been only two days 
on their way when a terrible gale arose that brought 
serious damage to the Resolution s topmast. 

“We shall have to turn about,” decided Cook, 
“because the ship needs repairing. I know of no 
safe harbor hereabouts where we can anchor.” 

Just one week from the time of their departure 
the explorers were back at Hawaii where they had 
been before. 

But how different was the welcome from that of 
their first visit! As it happened, the king was away 
from the island at the time and there was no one 
to hold the people in check. Moreover, they had 
evidently lost faith in Cook’s being the god they had 
worshiped. They even stoned a party from the 
ship when they landed on the shore. 

Matters went speedily from bad to worse. The 
natives tried to prevent the white men from getting 
water and a chief stole one of the Discovery } s boats. 

“That boat must be returned,” decided Cook 
who was indignant at what had happened. “I’ll do 

240 




The Bitter End 


as I have done at other times when natives have 
stolen from us.” 

He therefore gave the order to his men to stop 
every canoe that started to leave the harbor. “If 
need be,” he thought, “I’ll have the canoes de¬ 
stroyed, and so make the people bring back the 
cutter stolen from us.” 

His plan did not end there, as we shall see. He 
himself was to go ashore, and as the king had now 
returned, he intended to entice him on board ship. 

“There I will hold him,” he promised himself, 
“till the boat is returned.” 

Accordingly, he returned to the island with a small 
party of marines to guard him. It was February 
14, 1 779> the third day after the ships had come to 
anchor. The captain proceeded directly to the 
village where the king lived, and invited him to re¬ 
turn to the ship with his two sons to spend the day 
with him there. The king consented, and the two 
walked together in friendly fashion down toward 
the waiting boat. But now the king’s favorite wife 
began to fear for him. With tears in her eyes she 
begged her husband: “Do not go. Do not go.” 

Then two attending chiefs began also to plead, 
and even strove to hold him back. By that time 
crowds of the natives had gathered, filled with 
suspicion of the captain and his guard. 

Cook must have realized the danger because he 
left the king’s side and began to make his way quietly 
toward the shore. 


241 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


All at once there came the report of shots in the 
distance. The white men on guard in the harbor 
against the outgoing of the canoes had fired upon 
some of them. Immediately afterwards a native 
came rushing toward the throng of his people, 
shouting, “It is war. The foreigners have fired at a 
canoe from one of their boats and killed a chief.” 

On the instant there was tremendous excitement. 
The women and children in the crowd were sent 
away while the men hastened to put on their war 
mats, arm themselves with spears, and strive to seize 
the muskets of the marines. 

At this point one of the natives aimed his spear 
at Cook. The captain, calm and determined, de¬ 
manded that he stop. 

It was in vain. “I must defend myself,” he 
evidently thought, because he raised his shotgun and 
fired at the man who remained unharmed because of 
the thick grass mat wrapped about his body. 

Feeling thus safe, he continued to threaten the 
captain who realized that he must now defend him¬ 
self in earnest and at once shot a ball from the 
second barrel of his gun. It accidentally killed an¬ 
other native than the one who had been threatening 
Cook. 

All was confusion now; stones were hurled thick 
and fast at Cook and also at his companions who 
began firing into the yelling mob without waiting 
for orders. In vain the captain shouted to them to 

242 




The Bitter End 


stop. But so great was the noise about them that 
they did not hear. 

A few moments afterwards four marines had been 
frightfully killed by the furious natives. Others 
had been dangerously wounded. Cook, left alone 
but fearless as ever, hastened toward the beach 
which he managed to reach only to be knocked to 
the ground by a blow from a heavy club. Even then 
he found strength to raise himself and face his 
assailants. For a moment he held them motionless 
by the power of his piercing gaze. Then, in com¬ 
passion for them, he faced about to order his men 
in the near-by boats to stop firing upon the islanders. 
On the instant, the spear of a furious savage was 
thrust into his neck from behind. 

He fell forward unconscious into the water. 
Thereupon a shout of joy arose from the savage 
mob. His body was instantly dragged up on the 
shore, and the spear which had brought him low was 
seized by one savage after another and thrust into 
his flesh anew till long after he had stopped 
breathing. 

So ended the life of one of the bravest souls of 
all times. 

Heavy at heart were the men who had served him 
and who were left to carry back to England the 
story of his horrible death. Many of them had 
served him during long years of adventuring. They 
knew his courage, his kindness of heart, his wisdom, 
as could no others. They had come to love him as 

243 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


a father and realized the justice of his command. 
All, all, were overcome by sorrow. 

After some of the mutilated parts of his body 
had been secured with difficulty, a solemn service 
was held on shipboard, when tears fell unchecked 
from the eyes of his comrades. It was a time of 
sadness and sorrow for every one present. 




CHAPTER XXVI 
Afterwards 

S AD news indeed!” Such was the cry that spread 
all over England when word traveled from one 
place to another that Captain James Cook was no 
more. Such, too, was the cry in France, in the 
United States, and still other countries. 

The Resolution and Discovery had brought the 
dreadful tidings after a long and difficult voyage. 
They also brought word that Captain Clerke, who 
had taken command of the expedition after Cook’s 
death, had died on the way home. He had been 
ill a long time and died of lung trouble that had 
started even before he left England. But for Cook, 
so strong of body, so enduring in hardship, to lose 
his life in such a horrible manner, was a terrible 
tragedy. The king himself, so it was said, burst 
into tears when the news was brought to him* 
There was mourning throughout the land. 

And how did Elizabeth, the faithful, admiring 
wife, bear her loss? Bravely, as her husband would 
have wished. Not long before, the eldest of her 
three sons had been lost at sea, though she did not 
know it as yet, and it was well for her that she 
could not then look into the future and learn of the 

245 


The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


death of her two remaining sons before many years 
—one by accident on the ocean, and the other by 
illness. Yet her cup of sorrow seemed already full 
to overflowing with the loss of her noble husband. 
Nevertheless, it must have helped her bear her 
sorrow to realize what a great man people con¬ 
sidered him. Such glowing praises of him were 
printed in the newspapers! Such letters filled with 
admiration of his character and valorous deeds were 
written to her! Such tributes were paid him in 
public places! 

Moreover, as soon as King George had learned 
of Cook’s death, he decreed that a pension of two 
hundred pounds ($1,000) a year should be bestowed 
on the captain’s family, while a gold medal was 
struck off at the order of the Royal Society in honor 
of Cook’s services, and conferred on his widow. 
A coat of arms was also made at the king’s order 
and given to the family in acknowledgment of what 
Cook had accomplished. 

As time went by monuments and statues were set 
up in various places in his honor. With such tributes 
to cheer her, the loyal wife lived to great age, a 
lovely, highly respected lady, with the memory of 
her husband always fresh in her mind. If another 
did wrong she had one way only of expressing her 
displeasure. She would say: “Mr. Cook [for so 
she always spoke of the captain] would never have 
done so.'” 

Among her possessions she treasured most deeply 

246 




Afterwards 


the Bible from which her husband had daily read 
aloud to his company on shipboard, and which she 
herself often read to her dying day. 

What had Captain James Cook accomplished that 
the world has continued to sound the praises of that 
great explorer? In his first long voyage, he dis¬ 
covered the Society Islands; he surveyed the coasts 
of New Zealand and proved that it consisted of two 
islands. He sailed along the hitherto unknown 
coast of Australia for two thousand miles, and made 
valuable maps of the same. 

On his second voyage he sailed around the world, 
visited the Antarctic, and proved that there was no 
southern continent such as people had believed in; 
that if such a continent existed it must be near 
the South Pole and would not be habitable for man. 

After leaving the Antarctic he had discovered the 
important islands of New Caledonia, South Georgia, 
and other smaller islands; and he also made valu¬ 
able charts of the waters through which he voyaged, 
marking correctly the places he visited. 

Last but by no means least, came the discoveries 
made during his third voyage when he discovered 
the principal Hawaiian Islands, besides many others 
scattered through the southern waters. He explored 
thirty-five hundred miles of the Pacific coast of 
North America and learned of its nearness to Asia 
at its northwestern point. He entered the Arctic 
in his search for the Northwest Passage and found 
it impossible for ships to sail in safety through the 

247 




The Boy Who Loved the Sea 


ice-choked waters. He made numerous maps and 
charts to guide other seamen after him in their 
voyages. 

But this list does not represent all that Captain 
Cook accomplished, by any means. He learned 
much about the people and products of the places 
he visited, and he brought human beings all over 
the world more closely together. 

More than this even: by his study and watchful 
care of his men, he proved that henceforth the lives 
of sailors need no longer be in danger of that dread 
disease, scurvy, which had hitherto brought death 
and suffering to untold numbers of those upon the 
sea. The boon which he consequently bestowed 
upon all men who should thereafter follow the sea 
was the greatest possible one. 

His just and considerate treatment of those 
under his command was, moreover, a lesson to every 
other captain after him. He felt obliged to punish 
the sailors when they became unruly, but not with 
the severity common in those rough times. 

“He is fair. We can trust him.” So those who 
were under his orders were agreed. For that reason 
they looked upon him as a wise father. 

Post-Captain James Cook, once a poor unknown 
cabin boy, is an example to his fellow men of what 
one person can accomplish through faithfulness and 
determination. He will live through ages to come 
as one of the great heroes of the world. 

0) 


THE END 
















































AUG 


27 


1931 





























































